ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 175488
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| Date: | Friday 17 April 2015 |
| Time: | 16:15 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-18-150 Super Cub |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N162SC |
| MSN: | 18-7759 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1961 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 2762 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-320 SERIES |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Golf Course ENE La Quinta, CA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Banner and glider towing |
| Departure airport: | Bermuda Dunes, CA (UDD) |
| Bermuda Dunes, CA (UDD) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The commercial pilot reported that, while orbiting during a banner tow flight, the airplane began to shake violently and lose altitude. The pilot reduced power to idle, which alleviated the violent shaking, and released the banner over an empty fairway at a golf course. While advancing the throttle after dropping the banner, he noted that the severe vibration returned, and the airplane was unable to maintain altitude. The pilot selected the next empty fairway as a forced landing site, but the landing area had significant elevation changes. The airplane touched down on a plateau and could not be stopped before reaching a large drop-off. The airplane bounced before contacting the ground sideways and came to rest inverted.
Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that a piece of one propeller blade tip had separated; this piece was not located. The fracture likely originated from a fatigue crack in a deformed area on the propeller blade. Marks consistent with use of an orbital grinder overlapped hand finishing lines in the deformed material, suggesting multiple machining operations were employed during overhaul/repair of the propeller, none of which fully removed the deformed material. The airplane had flown about 66 hours since the last recorded inspection; no inspection or overhaul entry specified any work on a propeller blade deformation.
Probable Cause: Maintenance personnel’s failure to properly repair a propeller deformation, which resulted in a fatigue crack, separation of a propeller blade tip, and forced landing onto uneven terrain.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
FAA register: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=162SC
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 18-Apr-2015 05:39 | Geno | Added |
| 21-Apr-2015 06:05 | Geno | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:30 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 11-Oct-2017 07:36 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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