Piper PA-18-150 accident near Conway, South Carolina, August 15, 1998
On August 15, 1998 at about 1:55 pm local time, a Piper PA-18-150, registered N3981Z, was substantially damaged in an accident near Conway, South Carolina. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The total failure of the left wing forward and aft attachment fitting due to corrosion and fatigue during a banner tow pick-up resulting in a subsequent in-flight collision with terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 15, 1998 · about 1:55 pm local time
- Place
- Conway, South Carolina · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-18-150 · all PA-18-150s on the register
- Registration
- N3981Z · registry record · serial 18-7924
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was attempting a banner tow pick up when the left wing collapsed. Examination of the left wing forward and aft attachment fitting by the NTSB Materials Laboratory revealed the failure of the brackets due to corrosion and fatigue.
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.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,050 hours in all; 700 in this make and model; 500 in the last 90 days; 200 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,731 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 5, 1998; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,700 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A4M (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: NONE at 1:50 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 34, 1,800 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 020° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 15,000 ft; scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 75°F (24°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:45 pm from MYR
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.