Additional Participating Entity:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Grand Rapids, Michigan
Aviation Accident Preliminary Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
Location: Bay City, MI
Accident Number: CEN19LA214
Date & Time: 07/06/2019, 2040 EDT
Registration: N796AB
Aircraft: Piper PA18
Injuries: 1 Serious
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General Aviation - Banner Tow
On July 6, 2019, about 2040 eastern daylight time, a tailwheel-equipped Piper PA-18-150 (Super Cub) airplane, N796AB, impacted terrain while conducting a banner tow flight at the James Clements Municipal Airport (3CM), Bay City Michigan. The commercial pilot and sole occupant sustained serious injuries. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane was registered to Drake Aerial Enterprises, LLC and was operated by Air America Aerial Ads, LLC under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a visual flight rules banner tow flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from 3CM at 1740.
The operator reported the purpose of the flight was for the pilot to conduct a banner tow flight in the local area, which was scheduled for three hours. After the completion of the three-hour flight, the pilot was scheduled for a half hour banner tow flight before ceasing flight activities for the day. After successfully dropping the banner and preparing to pickup another banner stationed on the grass by runway 36 while flying to the north (as shown in figure 1 below), the operator reported the pilot exceeded the airplane's critical angle of attack. An aerodynamic stall occurred at too low of altitude to recover and the airplane impacted terrain. The airplane came to rest facing to the south, just south of the intersection of runway 36 and runway 23 as shown in figure 1 below. According to witnesses, the airplane was not connected to a banner at the time of the accident and no abnormal noises were heard emitting from the engine. The pilot sustained serious injuries and was transported to a hospital for medical treatment.
Figure 1 - Accident site diagram
(courtesy of the Federal Aviation Administration).
Figure 2 - View of the wreckage with first responders
(courtesy of the Bay City Department of Public Safety).
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) publication Information for Banner Towing Operations FS-I-8700-1, discusses the banner pickup procedure and states in part:
Stalls during the banner pickup procedure constitute one of the more frequent causes of banner towing operational accidents. A stall occurs when an airfoil reaches a critical angle of attack (AOA) and is a function of wing loading, independent of airspeed.
Air America Aerial Ads, LLC, is a banner tow and aerial advertising operator based in Genoa, Ohio and operates in conjunction with a FAA-issued Certificate of Waiver (CoW), CoW J550 Banner Towing Operations. The company conducts banner tow operations throughout the country using various single-engine airplanes.
Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information
Aircraft Make: Piper
Registration: N796AB
Model/Series: PA18 150
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Amateur Built: No
Operator: Air America Aerial Ads, LLC
Operating Certificate(s) Held: Certificate of Authorization or Waiver (COA)
Operator Does Business As: Air America Aerial Ads, LLC
Operator Designator Code:
Meteorological Information and Flight Plan
Conditions at Accident Site: Visual Conditions
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: KHYX, 600 ft msl
Observation Time: 0035 UTC
Distance from Accident Site: 7 Nautical Miles
Temperature/Dew Point: 22°C / 16°C
Lowest Cloud Condition:
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: 13 knots / 18 knots, 20°
Lowest Ceiling: Overcast / 2200 ft agl
Visibility: 10 Miles
Altimeter Setting: 30.02 inches Hg
Type of Flight Plan Filed: None
Departure Point: Bay City, MI (3CM)
Destination: Bay City, MI (3CM)
Wreckage and Impact Information
Crew Injuries: 1 Serious
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 1 Serious
Latitude, Longitude: 43.547500, -83.895000 (est)
Assistance for Patrick Jimenez & Family The downed aircraft at James Clements Airport was reported around 8:40 p.m. Saturday, July 6. Bay City Public Safety officers responded to the scene.
An Arkansas man sufferedlife threatening injuries in a Bay City plane crash Saturday, July 6, according to police.
The pilot was conscious with life-threatening injuries when officers arrived, according to the Bay City Department of Public Safety. The small, single-engine aircraft was found with heavy damage and leaking fuel, but was not on fire.
After multiple surgeries, the pilot, Patrick Jimenez of Russellville, Arkansas, is sedated but in stable condition at Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor, his fiance Taylor Easley said.
Jimenez, 27, suffered multiple injuries including a collapsed lung, broken bones in his left leg, a ruptured right eye, broken left arm and multiple facial fractures and breaks, she said.
He may not regain sight in the right eye, she said.
“We appreciate all (the) prayers and thoughts,” Easley said.
Jimenez is a pilot for Air America Aerial Ads LLC, in Toledo, Ohio. He and his family had recently relocated from Arkansas to Ohio so he could begin a career with the company.
He was getting ready to land after flying a banner for the company when the winds picked up, Easley said.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help pay for Jimenez’s medical expenses. He currently does not have health insurance and is the primary provider to Easley and their son, the GoFundMe states. His family will also be traveling to be near him throughout his recovery.
Air America Aerial Ads LLC declined to comment on the accident when contacted by MLive.
The James Clements Airport has reopened after it was temporarily closed, Deputy Bay City Department of Public Safety Public Director Edward Bromberg said. Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board have arrived to investigate the incident.
The investigation has been transferred to the Federal Aviation Administration, he said. The administration could not be immediately contacted for comment.
Original article can be found here ➤ https://www.mlive.com
The pilot of a plane that crashed in a Bay City airport July 6th, Patrick Jimenez of Russellville, Arkansas, is in stable condition at the University of Michigan Hospital, his fiance Taylor Easley said. Pictured above, Jimenez sits with Easley and their four-year-old son Raiden.
The investigation continues after a plane went down, and the pilot was taken to the hospital.The Bay County Public Safety Department was called to James Clements Municipal Airport on Saturday, July 6th at 8:38 p.m. for reports of a plane that went down.
When officers arrived they found a single-engine aircraft with heavy damage and leaking fuel.
The pilot, a 27-year-old Arkansas man, was conscious, but had possible life-threatening injuries.
He was extracted from the plane using the Jaws of Life and taken via helicopter to Covenant Hospital.
The airport will be temporarily closed until investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board arrive.
The pilot’s name has not yet been released.
Original article can be found here ➤ https://www.wnem.com
It sounds like the pilot's employer is throwing him under the bus in the NTSB Preliminary Report.
ReplyDeleteBut the employer neglected to provide its pilot-employee with a safer working environment, which in this case would have been an aircraft equipped with a stall-warning system.