Piper PA-12 N2504M

Summary

On 11 August 2025 at about 17:59 local time, a Piper PA-12 registered N2504M, operated by Aerial Messages Leasing Co, was involved in an accident near Ponce Inlet, Florida, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause has been published yet; this accident is still under investigation.

Date

11 August 2025 at 17:59

Classification

Accident

Location

Ponce Inlet, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

New Smyrna Beach Municipal Air (EVB)

Coordinates

29.0784, -80.9301

Aircraft

Piper PA-12

Registration

N2504M

Category

Airplane

Year built

1946

Engines

1

Operator

Aerial Messages Leasing Co

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Banner Tow

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

New Smyrna beach → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA25LA297

Nobody was injured.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. The investigation is still open; a final report usually follows one to two years after the accident.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

On August 11, 2024, about 1359 easter daylight time, a Piper PA-12, N2504M, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Ponce Inlet, Florida. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 banner tow flight. The pilot reported that during the second flight of the day, the airplane departed with 17 gallons of fuel. About 1 hour after departure at about 500 ft mean seal level, the airplane experienced a momentary surge in engine power. The engine anomaly repeated several times before the engine lost power completely. Unable to restore engine power, the pilot released the banner and performed a forced landing to an exposed sandbar. During the landing roll, the airplane overran the sandbar, nosed over in the water. The rudder struck the river bottom, substantially damaging it. The airplane came to rest inverted in about 2 ft of saltwater about 2 miles northeast of New Smyrna Beach Municipal Airport (EVB), New Smyrna Beach, Florida. The wreckage was retained for further examination.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.