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A PA18 attempted to tow a banner but because of wind conditions; low engine power output and a heavy banner the aircraft was unable to climb so the banner was released and the plane returned to the departure airport.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 949530 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201105 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | PA-18/19 Super Cub |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Initial Climb |
| Flight Plan | None |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Engine |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Pilot Flying Single Pilot |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Instrument |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 100 Flight Crew Total 2000 Flight Crew Type 1000 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical |
Narrative:
The airplane and aerial banner were setup; preflighted and deemed to be in good working order with no appearance of abnormality during engine runup. Upon pickup of aerial banner; the airplane encountered a significant downdraft and was unable to climb further. A turn to lower terrain (open area; golf course) was made and tower was notified of non-standard turn. The airplane at that point began to sink and it was determined the situation was possibly unsafe with the banner attached. I declared an emergency to the tower and released the banner. After release of the banner the airplane was able to climb and a normal pattern was flown back to the departure airport. The problem is determined to be the result of multiple contributing factors; including downdraft; large banner size and less than optimal engine power. The airplane will undergo maintenance to ensure maximum performance before banner towing is continued in the aircraft.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A PA18 attempted to tow a banner but because of wind conditions; low engine power output and a heavy banner the aircraft was unable to climb so the banner was released and the plane returned to the departure airport.
Narrative: The airplane and aerial banner were setup; preflighted and deemed to be in good working order with no appearance of abnormality during engine runup. Upon pickup of aerial banner; the airplane encountered a significant downdraft and was unable to climb further. A turn to lower terrain (open area; golf course) was made and Tower was notified of non-standard turn. The airplane at that point began to sink and it was determined the situation was possibly unsafe with the banner attached. I declared an emergency to the tower and released the banner. After release of the banner the airplane was able to climb and a normal pattern was flown back to the departure airport. The problem is determined to be the result of multiple contributing factors; including downdraft; large banner size and less than optimal engine power. The airplane will undergo maintenance to ensure maximum performance before banner towing is continued in the aircraft.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.