Piper PA-12 N3036M

Summary

On 31 July 2023 at about 15:30 local time, a Piper PA-12 registered N3036M was involved in an accident near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, 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

31 July 2023 at 15:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, United States

Coordinates

33.6954, -78.8802

Aircraft

Piper PA-12

Registration

N3036M

Category

Airplane

Year built

1947

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Banner Tow

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Myrtle Beach → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA23LA356

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot’s inadequate fuel planning, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot said he refueled the airplane the day before the accident and checked the fuel level during his preflight inspection the following morning. As he was conducting his second banner-tow of the day over the coastline, about 2 hours 30 minutes into the flight the engine suddenly stopped producing power. The pilot made a forced landing in the ocean just offshore of the beach, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that while the crankshaft would not rotate more than 180 degrees, this was likely due to corrosion that was the result of exposure to saltwater during the forced landing. Internal inspection of the engine via a borescope revealed no obvious mechanical deficiencies or malfunctions that would have precluded the engine from operating at the time of the accident. Although the pilot reported departing with 33 usable gallons of fuel, the postaccident examination found no evidence of fuel leaks and both fuel tanks were intact and empty of fuel. As such, the engine most likely lost power due to fuel exhaustion.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.