Champion 7GCAA accident near Lakewood, New Jersey, August 4, 2018

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

The pilot reported that the preflight check, ground operations, and subsequent 2-hour banner-towing flight were uneventful. On final approach, before dropping the banner, about 500 ft above ground level (agl), he reduced the throttle to idle as the airplane descended towards the runway. When the airplane was about tree height, he pitched up and added full throttle, preparing to drop the banner. He stated, "the engine continued to operate but produced very limited power while making abnormal combustion sounds." He verified the mixture was full rich and the throttle was full forward, then released the banner. The airplane was flying low and slow, so he pitched down and elected to land straight ahead. The airplane impacted small pine trees and terrain and the forward portion of the fuselage was substantially damaged. Postaccident examination of the engine revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal engine operation. The weather conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to the formation of serious carburetor icing at glide engine power settings. The pilot reported that, during the approach, he did not apply carburetor heat and the engine did not produce as much power as expected as he attempted to increase power after dropping the banner. Therefore, it is likely that carburetor ice accumulated during approach, which resulted in a partial loss of engine power.

The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.