Aero Commander CALLAIR N7700V

Summary

On 26 June 2010 at about 23:00 local time, a Aero Commander CALLAIR registered N7700V, operated by Aerial Ads LLC, was involved in an accident near Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

26 June 2010 at 23:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

Nearest airport

South Valley Regional Airport (U42)

Coordinates

40.6317, -111.9992

Aircraft

Aero Commander CALLAIR

Registration

N7700V

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Aerial Ads LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Banner Tow

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Salt Lake City → Salt Lake City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR10FA315

1 person died.

The pilot’s failure to maintain airspeed, which resulted in a stall/spin to the ground.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Company personnel reported that the pilot had been towing banners for 3 months and had just recently switched to the accident airplane, which had better performance during the summer months. The pilot had accumulated approximately 10 hours in the accident airplane. The ground crewman reported that the 280-foot banner was aligned on the ground for the pilot to pick up while flying directly into the wind. The ground crewman said the pilot missed his first two pickup attempts, but was successful on the third attempt, and the pickup appeared normal. As the airplane climbed to about 200 feet and started a left crosswind turn, the crewman radioed to the pilot that he appeared slow. A moment later, the pilot released the banner, but the airplane’s nose and left wing dropped. The airplane descended and impacted the ground in a nearly vertical attitude. Postimpact fire consumed the airplane. Post accident inspection of the engine and airframe found no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.