Aviat A 1 N6090U

Summary

On 9 August 2015 at about 19:33 local time, a Aviat A 1 registered N6090U, operated by Aviad Corporation, was involved in an accident near Compton, California, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

9 August 2015 at 19:33

Classification

Accident

Location

Compton, California, United States

Nearest airport

Compton/Woodley (CPM)

Coordinates

33.8894, -118.2456

Aircraft

Aviat A 1

Registration

N6090U

Category

Airplane

Year built

1995

Engines

1

Operator

Aviad Corporation

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Banner Tow

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Compton → Compton

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR15FA238

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed and/or appropriate pitch attitude during a banner pickup, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and experiencing an aerodynamic stall/spin at too low an altitude to allow recovery.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot was conducting a local banner tow flight. After five unsuccessful attempts to pick up the banner, the pilot was successful on the sixth attempt. According to ground personnel, the banner deployed normally, and the airplane's engine sounded normal. However, the pilot radioed to the ground personnel that the airplane was unable to climb. About that time, the ground personnel observed the banner releasing from the airplane's tail hook and falling to the ground. The airplane then wallowed left and right until it spun to the left as it descended and subsequently impacted the ground. The airplane burst into flames and was consumed by the postimpact fire. Postaccident examination noted no preimpact anomalies with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot had a history of difficulties executing banner pickups that included multiple low misses, adding power late, and pitching up too high. Although the pilot had been retrained the year before the accident, it is likely that he added power late, pitched up too high, or made both errors when picking up the banner, which resulted in the airplane's airspeed decaying to the point where the airplane exceeded its critical angle of attack and experienced an aerodynamic stall.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.