Champion 7GCAA N87000

Summary

On 4 August 2018 at about 16:00 local time, a Champion 7GCAA registered N87000, operated by United Aerial Advertising Of Delaware In, was involved in an accident near Lakewood, New Jersey, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

4 August 2018 at 16:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Lakewood, New Jersey, United States

Nearest airport

Lakewood (N12)

Coordinates

40.0639, -74.1822

Aircraft

Champion 7GCAA

Registration

N87000

Category

Airplane

Year built

1974

Engines

1

Operator

United Aerial Advertising Of Delaware In

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Banner Tow

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lakewood → Lakewood

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA18LA210

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's failure to use carburetor heat in weather conditions conducive to carburetor icing, which resulted in a partial loss of engine power due to the formation of carburetor ice, a forced landing and impact with terrain.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that the preflight check, ground operations, and subsequent 2-hour banner-towing flight were uneventful. On final approach, before dropping the banner, about 500 ft above ground level (agl), he reduced the throttle to idle as the airplane descended towards the runway. When the airplane was about tree height, he pitched up and added full throttle, preparing to drop the banner. He stated, "the engine continued to operate but produced very limited power while making abnormal combustion sounds." He verified the mixture was full rich and the throttle was full forward, then released the banner. The airplane was flying low and slow, so he pitched down and elected to land straight ahead. The airplane impacted small pine trees and terrain and the forward portion of the fuselage was substantially damaged. Postaccident examination of the engine revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal engine operation. The weather conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to the formation of serious carburetor icing at glide engine power settings. The pilot reported that, during the approach, he did not apply carburetor heat and the engine did not produce as much power as expected as he attempted to increase power after dropping the banner. Therefore, it is likely that carburetor ice accumulated during approach, which resulted in a partial loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.