Aviat A 1B N54HY

Summary

On 2 November 2016 at about 15:00 local time, a Aviat A 1B registered N54HY, operated by Aerial Messages of Daytona & Sales Inc, was involved in an accident near Geneva, Florida, 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

2 November 2016 at 15:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Geneva, Florida, United States

Coordinates

28.7933, -81.0856

Aircraft

Aviat A 1B

Registration

N54HY

Category

Airplane

Year built

2001

Engines

1

Operator

Aerial Messages of Daytona & Sales Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Banner Tow

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

New Smyrna Beach → Orlando

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA17LA037

Nobody was injured.

A partial loss of engine power due to debris in the No. 1 cylinder that damaged the spark plugs.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot reported that, about 10 minutes into the banner tow flight, the engine began to run roughly. He adjusted the throttle, propeller lever, mixture, and carburetor heat; however, the engine started to backfire and continued to lose power. The pilot performed a precautionary landing on a race track; during the landing roll, the airplane struck a fence before coming to rest. The engine continued to operate during the landing roll until the airplane struck the fence. Postaccident examination of the engine revealed that the No. 1 cylinder top and bottom spark plug electrodes exhibited mechanical damage; no mechanical damage was noted on the other spark plugs. The No. 1 piston looked like it was "sandblasted" compared to the other cylinders. Further disassembly of the engine was performed; no debris was noted in the carburetor box, carburetor, and No. 1 cylinder. Maintenance was performed on the engine 2 days before the accident to troubleshoot "hard starting, low static RPM, and a rough engine." The maintenance entry indicated that both No. 1 cylinder spark plugs were damaged and that new spark plugs were installed. A comparison of the photographs of the spark plugs removed from the No. 1 cylinder during maintenance and the spark plugs removed from the No. 1 cylinder after the accident showed similar mechanical damage. Although no debris was found during the postaccident examination, it is likely that both sets of No. 1 spark plugs were damaged by debris in the No. 1 cylinder; the source of the debris could not be located.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.