Piper PA-12 N4421M

Summary

On 28 May 2022 at about 18:14 local time, a Piper PA-12 registered N4421M, operated by Barnstormers Aerial Advertising LLC, was involved in an accident near North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

28 May 2022 at 18:14

Classification

Accident

Location

North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Grand Strand Airport (CRE)

Coordinates

33.8115, -78.7253

Aircraft

Piper PA-12

Registration

N4421M

Category

Airplane

Year built

1947

Engines

1

Operator

Barnstormers Aerial Advertising LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Banner Tow

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA22FA243

1 person died.

The pilot's exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack, which resulted in a subsequent aerodynamic stall at an altitude that was too low for recovery.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the banner tow airplane made a low approach to pick up a banner. Witnesses reported that after the tow rope was picked up, the airplane pitched up and maintained a steep angle of attack until it entered an aerodynamic stall and made a near vertical descent to impact. The airplane came to rest in a nose-down, near-vertical position about 300 ft from the banner pick up zone. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Toxicology testing detected a low level of ethanol in the pilot’s liver tissue. Some or all of the small amount of detected ethanol may have been from postmortem production. It is unlikely that ethanol effects contributed to the accident. It is likely that after the banner pickup and during initial climb, while the airplane had a high-power setting, high pitch angle, and low airspeed, the pilot exceeded the airplane’s critical angle of attack, and the airplane entered an aerodynamic stall from which recovery was not possible due to the airplane's low altitude.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.