CHI99LA349

Factual narrative

On September 27, 1999, at 1705 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 150, N40LM, was destroyed when it nose dived into the ground while in a downwind climb at the Detroit City Airport, Detroit, Michigan. The airplane was being used in banner tow operations. The airplane had hooked the banner, but cut it loose when the airplane appeared to stall. The pilot requested a go around and had turned downwind when the airplane impacted the ground. The commercial pilot received serious injuries. The 14 CFR Part 91 flight had departed Toledo, Ohio, at 1545 EDT and had flown to Detroit City Airport for the banner tow flights. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The pilot reported he had made two successful banner tows before the accident occurred. He reported that on the third banner tow, the hook "...missed the banner rope and grabbed one of the pick-up poles instead. It was my intent to keep my aircraft and attached pole over the airport to minimize the possibility of property damage or injury to people on the ground if the pole broke free of my hook." The pilot reported he attempted to stay within the airport boundary and he entered a climbing left turn. He reported, "I added too much left rudder which immediately put me into a spin. Altitude at this point was approximately 300' AGL." He reported he attempted to do a spin recovery, but the airplane impacted the runway in a 30 degrees nose low attitude. The airplane bounced twice before it impacted a jet blast wall. The pilot reported he was knocked unconscious during the impact sequence and the airplane was destroyed. The pilot reported he had made two successful banner tows before the accident occurred. On the third banner tow, the hook '...missed the banner rope and grabbed one of the pick-up poles instead. It was my intent to keep my aircraft and attached pole over the airport to minimize the possibility of property damage or injury to people on the ground if the pole broke free of my hook.' The pilot attempted to stay within the airport boundary and he entered a climbing left turn. He reported, 'I added too much left rudder which immediately put me into a spin. Altitude at this point was approximately 300' AGL.' He reported he attempted to do a spin recovery but the airplane impacted the runway in a 30 degrees nose low attitude. The airplane bounced twice before impacting a jet blast wall. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12