NTSB CAROL · Event
Event ERA23LA371
Registry · N2880S
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
CESSNA 150G
Year of manufacture
1967 · 56 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR 0-200 SERIES (100 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19670529
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A2EE1C
Registrant of record
HIGH EXPOSURE INC
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the banner pickup, which resulted in a low altitude aerodynamic stall/spin.
Factual narrative
The pilot of the banner tow airplane performed a normal takeoff and stayed in the airport traffic pattern for the banner pickup. The pilot described that after successfully capturing the pickup rope, he climbed with the engine at full power, the flaps retracted, and at a speed of about 45 to 50 mph. The airplane drifted left before the banner left the ground, and the pilot attempted to correct the flight path to the right. The airplane and banner subsequently climbed above the nearby trees, after which the pilot released the banner. The airplane then abruptly pitched up, the right wing “dropped,” and the airplane entered a 180-degree spin to the right that continued to ground impact. The pilot was seriously injured and the airplane was substantially damaged during the impact with trees and terrain. The operator reported, and a post accident examination by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector confirmed, that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane and its flight controls that would have precluded normal operation. The operator also reported that it was their company’s standard procedure to climb the airplane at a speed of 55 mph with the flaps extended 10 degrees in order to achieve best climb out. Additionally, when releasing a banner, the prescribed procedure included pushing forward on the control yoke to prevent an abrupt pitch up. Based on this information, it is likely that the pilot climbed at too low an airspeed during the banner pickup, resulting in a loss of control, his decision to release the banner, and the uncorrected pitch up of the airplane that ultimately resulted in the aerodynamic stall/spin. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Airspeed-Not attained/maintained
- — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2023_ERA23LA371.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall, loss of control). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- Semantic Scholar 2016 · Article (Interacción)
Trajectory Recovery System: Angle of Attack Guidance for Inflight Loss of Control
This paper describes the design and development of an ecological display to aid pilots in the recovery of an In-Flight Loss of Control event due to a Stall (ILOC-S).
- NTSB Aircraft Accident Reports 2010 · Accident report
Loss of Control on Approach — Colgan Air Flight 3407
Colgan Air 3407 / Continental Connection (Q400) Buffalo NY, February 12, 2009 — 50 fatalities. Definitive investigation of the Colgan 3407 stall-stick-pusher crash on approach to Buffalo.
- NASA NTRS 2026 · Conference Paper
Computational Analysis of Steady State Aerodynamics of Transonic Truss-Braced Wing Configuration in Deep Stall
This study presents a computational investigation of steady state aerodynamics of the Subsonic Ultra-Green Aircraft Research (SUGAR) Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW) configuration over a wide range …
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2025 · Journal article (JAAER)
A Scoping Review of Aviation Loss of Control Inflight Research
Loss of control – inflight (LOC-I) contributes to aircraft accidents at unacceptably high rates. Significant industry efforts and research have aimed to improve LOC-I prevention, detection, and recove…
- arXiv 2025 · arXiv preprint
Quadratic Programming Approach to Flight Envelope Protection Using Control Barrier Functions
Ensuring the safe operation of aerospace systems within their prescribed flight envelope is a fundamental requirement for modern flight control systems.
- SKYbrary (Eurocontrol) 2024 · SKYbrary article
Loss of Control In-Flight (LOC-I) — SKYbrary Knowledge Base
SKYbrary comprehensive knowledge-base entry on Loss of Control In-Flight — definitions, contributing factors, accident case studies (Air France 447, Colgan 3407), and prevention strategies.
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗