Piper PA-25 Pawnee Can't Swim, Pilot Is Fine After Swift Recovery

ANN E-I-C Note: In my younger years, I picked up a few extra flying hours, and a very small amount of money, towing banners at the Jersey shore.

I rather liked the gig, and frankly had a ball with it even though I didn't do it that long. It's hard work on a pilot and an airplane, especially when you consider the fact that flying a draggy banner, some of them quite large, requires you to fly at fairly low air speeds (because that's all the airplane will do) and while carrying a fair amount of power. The engine works hard, doesn't get all the cooling it would flying at cruise speeds and can cook an engine under the worst of circumstances. It's pretty much a formula by which an airplane can be easily abused. And, obviously, it's particularly hard on engines.

The pilot of a Florida-based Piper PA–25 (pix by Okalosa Sheriff) found out last week about that when he lost the engine while towing a 90 foot banner near Okaloosa Island. Only 200 yards offshore and some 300 yards east of the Okaloosa Island pier, the pilot survived the immediate dunking, but the airplane is likely a total loss after immersion in saltwater.

Okaloosa Sheriff's deputies report that the pilot climbed out of the aircraft fairly quickly, and that first responders had him on shore in just about 15 minutes. In the event of a power failure, one of the first things you MUST do is drop the banner, because the amount of drag that occurs with that massive banner and without any motive force is extraordinary. In this case the pilot did drop the banner as required, and the banner was actually recovered later, from the drink.

A tweet from the Okaloosa Sheriff (@OCSOALERTS) noted that, "Pilot is okay! A banner towing #plane went into the Gulf off Okaloosa Island around 2:20 pm and first responders had the uninjured pilot on a boat and heading back to shore within less than 15 minutes. No word yet on what led to the incident but happy to say no one hurt!"

The FAA reports the PA-25 aircraft as N7366 and classified it as destroyed on the FAA ASIAS site, with a short notation that the, "AIRCRAFT EXPERIENCED EMERGENCY AND HAD TO DITCH IN OPEN WATER." The PA-25 is a popular aircraft for banner-towing, glider towing and light AG work... and is a surprisingly fun airplane to fly... when the engine is running.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov,  https://twitter.com/OCSOALERTS/status/1304154724879552512