Piper PA-25 N6289Z

Summary

On 5 July 2005 at about 15:30 local time, a Piper PA-25 registered N6289Z was involved in an accident near Cape May, New Jersey, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

5 July 2005 at 15:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Cape May, New Jersey, United States

Nearest airport

Cape May County Airport (WWD)

Coordinates

38.9391, -74.8992

Aircraft

Piper PA-25

Registration

N6289Z

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Banner Tow

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Green Creek → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

IAD05LA096

Nobody was injured.

A partial loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. A factor was the lack of suitable terrain to perform a forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After conducting preflight inspection and fueling the airplane, the pilot departed the airport and picked up the banner. While in cruise flight the airplane began to lose altitude. The pilot attempted to correct for the altitude loss by applying full power, but the airplane continued to descend. After a period of time, the airplane's descent ceased, and it flew normally. The pilot was not alarmed by this event because he often encountered downdrafts in the area. Later, the airplane again began to lose altitude. The pilot applied full power, adjusted the engine controls, released the banner, and configured the airplane in various combinations of airspeed and angle of attack, all having little affect on the descent rate. Due to the number of persons on the beach, the pilot elected to ditch the airplane in the Atlantic Ocean. The airplane subsequently sank, and was not recovered.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.