Piper PA-25-235 N131AB

Summary

On 10 November 2007 at about 21:56 local time, a Piper PA-25-235 registered N131AB, operated by Aerial Banners Inc, was involved in an accident near Hollywood, Florida, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

10 November 2007 at 21:56

Classification

Accident

Location

Hollywood, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Hollywood North Perry (HWO)

Coordinates

26.0000, -80.2417

Aircraft

Piper PA-25-235

Registration

N131AB

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Aerial Banners Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Banner Tow

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hollywood → Hollywood

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC08LA029

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed, resulting in an aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident were an inoperative stall warning system and an erroneous airspeed indicator.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the Piper PA-25 completed the local banner-tow mission and successfully released the banner. While maneuvering for landing, the airplane stalled at low altitude. The airplane was substantially damaged when it impacted flat terrain on airport property and the certificated commercial pilot sustained serious injuries. The airplane was equipped with a stall warning system that consisted of a vane-activated switch on the wing and a light in the cockpit. Electrical continuity testing and x-ray examination of the switch revealed that the internal contacts were fused, which prevented the switch from functioning in accordance with the design. The stall warning light was not illuminated at impact based on an analysis conducted by the Safety Board's Materials Laboratory. Calibration testing of the airspeed indicator revealed that the indicator read approximately 8 mph high at speeds up through at least 90 mph. The pilot had approximately 450 total hours of flight experience and approximately 130 hours in the accident airplane. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and the reported winds were 9 knots.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.