NTSB CAROL · Event
Event MIA94LA195
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO VISUALLY VERIFY THAT THE TOW ROPE WAS NOT WRAPPED AROUND ANY FLIGHT CONTROL SURFACE AND THE INADVERTENT STALL/SPIN. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE ENTANGLEMENT OF THE TOW EQUIPMENT WITH THE RUDDER HORN, RUDDER MOVEMENT WAS RESTRICTED DUE TO FULL DEFLECTION, AND INABILITY OF THE PILOT TO RELEASE THE BANNER.
Factual narrative
On August 14, 1994, about 1343 eastern daylight time, a Champion 7GCAA, N9669S, registered to Andrew P. Burfitt, operated by Air Words, crashed shortly after pickup of a banner from the Merritt Island Airport, Merritt Island, Florida, while on a 14 CFR Part 91 flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the local flight. The commercial-rated pilot, the sole occupant, was seriously injured. The flight originated about 5 minutes earlier from the Merritt Island Airport, Merritt Island, Florida. The flight landed after towing a banner for about 1 hour and another tow rope was added. The flight departed and after takeoff the pilot threw the tow rope out of the airplane during which it became wrapped around the left rudder horn. The pilot picked up the second banner and during the climb, the rudder was fully deflected to the right. The pilot was unable to release the banner. The flight was observed by witnesses to turn right crosswind, downwind, and base. The flight was about 1/4 mile northwest of the airport when the airplane stalled and spun to the right completing about 1/2 turn before impact with the ground in a residential area. According to the owner of the airplane, a mirror is installed on the left wing strut for viewing the "D" ring to verify that the tow rope is not wrapped around the rudder horn. AFTER TAKEOFF THE PILOT THREW THE TOPE ROPE OUT OF THE COCKPIT AND IT BECAME WRAPPED AROUND THE LEFT RUDDER HORN. THE PILOT PICKED UP THE BANNER AND BECAUSE OF THE POSITION OF THE TOPE ROPE, THE TRAILING EDGE OF THE RUDDER BECAME FULLY DEFLECTED TO THE RIGHT. THE PILOT TURNED RIGHT CROSSWIND, DOWNWIND, AND BASE. WHEN THE FLIGHT WAS ABOUT 1/4 MILE NORTHWEST OF THE AIRPORT, THE AIRPLANE STALLED SPUN 1/2 TURN TO THE RIGHT AND COLLIDED WITH THE GROUND IN A RESIDENTIAL AREA. ACCORDING TO THE OWNER OF THE OPERATION, A MIRROR IS INSTALLED ON THE LEFT WING STRUT TO VIEW THE TOW ROPE AT THE 'D' RING TO VERIFY THAT THE TOW ROPE ISN'T WRAPPED AROUND THE RUDDER HORN. THE PILOT WAS UNABLE TO RELEASE THE BANNER. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1994_MIA94LA195.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). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- 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 …
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Automating Bird Diverter Installation through Multi-Aerial Robots and Signal Temporal Logic Specifications
This paper tackles the task assignment and trajectory generation problem for bird diverter installation using a fleet of multi-rotors.
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Variation of Critical Crystallization Pressure for the Formation of Square Ice in Graphene Nanocapillaries
Two-dimensional square ice in graphene nanocapillaries at room temperature is a fascinating phenomenon and has been confirmed experimentally.
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Polycrystallinity enhances stress build-up around ice
Damage caused by freezing wet, porous materials is a widespread problem, but is hard to predict or control. Here, we show that polycrystallinity makes a great difference to the stress build-up process…
- arXiv 2022 · arXiv preprint
Enhanced Prediction of Three-dimensional Finite Iced Wing Separated Flow Near Stall
Icing on three-dimensional wings causes severe flow separation near stall. Standard improved delayed detached eddy simulation (IDDES) is unable to correctly predict the separating reattaching flow due…
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2021 · Journal article (JAAER)
Analysis on the Negative Emotional, Physiological, and Cognitive Responses Elicited from of the Activation of a Stall Alarm
Failing to identify an aerodynamic stall can lead to the inability of an aircraft to sustain flight. To warn pilots of an impending or fully-developed stall, many aircraft have safety devices installe…
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