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CEN12CA030

2011-10-17 · Covington, Louisiana, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport L31

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed during a banner drop, resulting in an aerodynamic stall.

Factual narrative

Following a local banner towing flight, the pilot returned to the airport to drop the banner. With the flaps extended 10 degrees, the pilot maneuvered the airplane about 200 feet above the runway and slowed to an airspeed of 60 knots. After releasing the banner, the pilot added full engine power and felt a “surge/deceleration.” As the pilot reached down and pulled the banner release handle a second time, thinking the banner had not released, the airplane’s left wing and nosed dropped. The pilot was able to recover to wings level; however, before the descent could be arrested, the airplane impacted the ground and nosed over. The airplane’s left wing and fuselage sustained substantial damage during the impact. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Following a local banner towing flight, the pilot returned to the airport to drop the banner. With the flaps extended 10 degrees, the pilot maneuvered the airplane about 200 feet above the runway and slowed to an airspeed of 60 knots. After attempting to release the banner, the pilot added full engine power and felt a surge or deceleration from the engine. As the pilot reached down and pulled the banner release handle a second time, thinking the banner had not released, the airplane’s left wing and nose dropped. The pilot was able to recover to a level attitude; however, before the descent could be arrested, the airplane impacted the ground and nosed over. The airplane’s left wing and fuselage sustained substantial damage during the impact. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Airspeed-Not attained/maintained - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2011_CEN12CA030.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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