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| Date: | Friday 22 July 2022 |
| Time: | 13:30 |
| Type: |  Piper J3C-65 Cub |
| Owner/operator: | Van Wagner Aerial Media LLC |
| Registration: | N3666K |
| MSN: | 22356 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1946 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Huntington Beach, CA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Banner and glider towing |
| Departure airport: | Compton Airport, CA (CPM/KCPM) |
| Compton Airport, CA (CPM/KCPM) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot departed the airport on a banner towing operation that would follow the Pacific Ocean shoreline. The airplane carried 36 gallons of fuel in 2 18-gallon fuel tanks and towed a banner. His flight profile was 500 ft agl and about 2,000 ft offshore. The pilot began the flight with the fuel tank selector in the left-tank position. After about 16 minutes of flight, the pilot switched to the right tank and the fuel tank selector remained in the right-tank position for about 2 hours 36 minutes. The pilot reported that shortly after he switched back to the left tank the engine sustained a total loss of power. With little altitude to recover, he elected to land in the water, near the shoreline; the wings and fuselage were substantially damaged in the landing.
On-scene examination of the airplane after recovery from the water revealed that there was no fuel in the right tank. A postaccident examination of the airplane and engine revealed saltwater corrosion on some engine components, but no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Carburetor ice conditions were calculated to be serious, but only at glide power, which was not the conditions at the time of the total loss of power. Fuel samples taken at the airport’s fuel pump and from the airplane tanks revealed no contamination. A review of maintenance records for the airplane revealed no outstanding anomalies.
Given that the pilot had the right tank selected for about 2 hours 36 minutes, the fuel burn rate was less than estimated by the pilot; however, the discovery that there was no fuel remaining in the right tank and no breaches of the right tank, it is likely the right tank ran empty before the pilot switched to the left tank.
Probable Cause: A total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation and the pilot’s mismanagement of the available fuel at an altitude too low for recovery. Contributing was the pilot’s delayed decision to switch fuel tanks.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.foxla.com/news/small-plane-crashes-into-ocean-in-huntington-beach
https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/small-banner-plane-crash-huntington-beach/2945213/
https://apnews.com/article/oceans-plane-crashes-climate-and-environment-7400172547621276f48a14202d566c0d
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=105571
https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/Search/NNumberResult?NNumberTxt=3666K
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N3666K/history/20220722/1813Z/KCPM/L%2033.64409%20-117.99007
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=a425ca&lat=33.640&lon=-118.000&zoom=13.0&showTrace=2022-07-22&leg=1
https://photos-e1.flightcdn.com/photos/retriever/b11c348d2e75e10e9dfd7f623f713ca1b68a79f2 (photo)
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 19 January 1987 | N3666K | Aerial Sign Co. | 0 | Pembroke Pines, FL | |
sub |
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 22-Jul-2022 22:35 | Geno | Added |
| 22-Jul-2022 22:50 | Geno | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 22-Jul-2022 23:06 | RobertMB | Updated [Location, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 23-Jul-2022 00:55 | johnwg | Updated [Time, Phase, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative, Category] |
| 23-Jul-2022 05:41 | AgOps | Updated [Location, Phase, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 23-Jul-2022 12:12 | johnwg | Updated [Phase, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category] |
| 23-Jul-2022 12:14 | johnwg | Updated [Source] |
| 23-Jul-2022 16:49 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Embed code] |
| 12-Aug-2022 21:03 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Location, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 06-May-2024 02:03 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Location, Source, Narrative, Accident report] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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