http://registry.faa.gov/N7313Z
NTSB Identification: ERA12LA474
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Monday, July 23, 2012 in Westerly, RI
Probable Cause Approval Date: 07/29/2013
Aircraft: PIPER PA-25-235, registration: N7313Z
Injuries: 1 Minor.
NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
About 12 minutes into a local banner towing flight, while flying 650 feet above the ocean, the airplane’s engine began running roughly. The pilot responded by increasing the throttle to full, richening the mixture, and applying carburetor heat, all to no avail. Shortly thereafter, the engine lost power completely, so the pilot performed a forced landing to the ocean and was later rescued by civilian boaters. The airplane was recovered from the ocean more than 1 week after the accident. The pilot/operator was able to perform a cursory inspection of the engine at the time, but no definitive cause for the loss of power was identified. Due to the salt water-damaged state of the engine, no further detailed examination could be completed. At the time of the accident, the engine had accumulated nearly 2,300 hours since its most recent overhaul and 150 hours since its most recent annual inspection. Weather conditions at an airport 6 miles from the accident location were conducive to the formation of serious carburetor ice at glide power settings.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
A total loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined due to the postaccident salt water-damaged state of the engine.
On July 23, 2012, at 1502 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-25, N7313Z, registered to and operated by Simmons Aviation, was substantially damaged following a forced landing into the Atlantic Ocean, near Westerly, Rhode Island. The certificated airline transport certificated pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the local flight, which originated from Westerly State Airport (WST), Westerly, Rhode Island, about 1445. The banner tow flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
The pilot stated that he departed with 25 gallons of fuel for a 45-minute flight, and had not taken on any fuel that day. About 12 minutes into the flight, and while flying at an altitude of about 600 feet, the engine began running "roughly" and sounded as though it misfired. After about 20 seconds, the pilot responded by increasing engine power to full, richening the mixture, and applying carburetor heat. Shortly after, the engine experienced a total loss of power. The pilot subsequently ditched the airplane into the ocean with the banner still attached, approximately 6 miles from shore. The pilot transmitted a distress call, and was later rescued by a civilian boat.
The airplane was recovered from the ocean on July 31, 2012. The pilot performed a cursory examination of the engine and noted that the crankshaft was free to rotate, and oil was present within the engine case. The pilot reported that there was an unspecified “problem” with a valve of the number 4 cylinder, and that he was unable to check operation of the magnetos since they were saturated with water. An unspecified quantity of fuel was found in a fuel tank. Due to the extent of damage related to immersion in salt water, no further examination of the engine was possible.
The pilot had most recently purchased fuel from a fixed base operator at WST. The fuel facility there was inspected at the direction of a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector following the accident. No abnormalities were noted during the inspection.
The accident airplane was manufactured in 1965 and was equipped with a Lycoming O-540-B4B5 engine. Review of maintenance records showed that the airplane’s most recent annual inspection was completed on August 7, 2011. At that time, the airframe had accumulated 4,720 total flight hours, and the engine had accumulated 2,147 hours since the most recent overhaul. The airplane had accumulated an additional 150 flight hours since that time.
The pilot held an airline transport pilot certificate with numerous ratings, including airplane single engine land. His most recent FAA second class medical certificate was issued in June 2012, and he reported that he possessed 9,175 total hours of flight experience, 1,500 hours of which were in the accident airplane make and model.
The weather reported at WST, at 1500, included winds from 210 degrees magnetic at 9 knots, 10 statute miles visibility, a broken ceiling at 1,600 feet, temperature 26 degrees Celsius (C), dew point 21 degrees C, and an altimeter setting of 29.98 inches of mercury. The temperature and dew point conditions at that time were conducive to the formation of serious carburetor icing at glide power settings.
NTSB Identification: ERA12LA474
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Monday, July 23, 2012 in Westerly, RI
Aircraft: PIPER PA-25-235, registration: N7313Z
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.
This
is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors.
Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has
been completed.
On July 23, 2012, about 1500 eastern
daylight time, a Piper PA-25, N7313Z, registered to and operated by
Simmons Aviation, was presumed substantially damaged following a forced
landing into the Atlantic Ocean, near Westerly, Rhode Island. The
certificated airline transport certificated pilot was not injured.
Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight
plan was filed for the local flight, which originated from Westerly
State Airport (WST), Westerly, Rhode Island, about 1445. The banner tow
flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal
Regulations Part 91.
The pilot stated that he departed with 25
gallons of fuel, for a 45 minute flight, and had not taken on any fuel
that day. About 12 minutes into the flight, the engine began running
"roughly", and then it sounded as though the engine misfired before it
lost power completely. The pilot subsequently ditched the airplane
approximately 6 miles from shore. The pilot transmitted a distress call,
and was later rescued by a civilian boat. The airplane was last seen
floating east, and to date has not been recovered.
A pilot described his rescue to ABC6, Tuesday, for the first time since his plane went down in Block Island sound the day before.
That pilot, Mark Simmons, was back up in the air, Tuesday, to finish the job he started before the crash.
He landed safely at the Westerly Airport. It was a much better landing than Monday's, when he ended up in the water and had to be rescued.
More good news, the woman he was carrying the "Will you marry me" sign for said yes.
Small plane pilot Mark Simmons took off, Tuesday, the same way he did the day before with the hopes of a better result.
"About ten to twelve minutes into the flight the engine all of a sudden ran rough and then shut off," said Simmons.
Mark was forced to ditch his plane into Block Island Sound. He strapped his landing gear to his body to stay afloat and was stuck in the water for about an hour.
"What was going through my mind was how am I going to live through this," said Simmons, "What can I do to make sure I'm going to live."
He lucked out. Boaters saw him waving his orange shorts around and picked him up. Simmons' eight year old son is so grateful to them he wore the name of their boat on his hat.
"If he went missing and we never saw him again," said Ethan, "Part of my life would be over because he's the instructor I want to get taught to fly by."
And now little Ethan will have that chance. His dad sent a message to him Tuesday, when you fall get right back up and try it again. He flew a marriage proposal banner back to Block Island just a day after he almost lost his life.
"I want to make sure I take off in an airplane and then come back to the place that I took off, so my son at least knows that every time I go out it doesn't mean I'm not going to come back," said Simmons.
Simmons admits he has crashed before but never this bad. Every weekend in the summer he pulls banners on one of his small planes for special occasions. He loves it and tells us something like this won't make him stop anytime soon.
Source: http://www.abc6.com
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