Overall Trends
Total, fatal, and serious accidents in the selected range.
Search investigations, review source evidence, monitor watched reports, and trace long-term patterns from one calm, data-first workspace.
Fast key and full-text search with live filters, watches, and precise metadata.
Use quotes for exact phrase matches (for example "fuel selector valve").
Track fatal and non-fatal accident patterns across Part 91, Part 135, and Part 121 operations.
Major cases, deep-report coverage, and investigation media across decades of NTSB history.
Move quickly by aircraft, airport, operator, and time with indexes built for research, not wandering.
NTSB Reports is an independent research and search tool for public aviation accident and incident records. It brings NTSB aviation reports, structured fields, docket files, extracted figures, photos, videos, and update history into one searchable interface.
The goal is practical safety education: make it faster to find relevant investigations, compare similar events, review factual records, and understand the evidence behind probable-cause and preliminary reports.
The investigative work and source records belong to the National Transportation Safety Board and the published investigation record. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the NTSB.
Detroit, MI
The pilot reported he had made two successful banner tows before the accident occurred. On the third banner tow, the hook '...missed the banner rope and grabbed one of the pick-up poles instead. It was my intent to keep my aircraft and attached pole over the airport to minimize the possibility of property damage or injury to people on the ground if the pole broke free of my hook.' The pilot attempted to stay within the airport boundary and he entered a climbing left turn. He reported, 'I added too much left rudder which immediately put me into a spin. Altitude at this point was approximately 300' AGL.' He reported he attempted to do a spin recovery but the airplane impacted the runway in a 30 degrees nose low attitude. The airplane bounced twice before impacting a jet blast wall.
the pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane which resulted in the inadvertent spin. A factor was the pilot snagged the banner pole.
On September 27, 1999, at 1705 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 150, N40LM, was destroyed when it nose dived into the ground while in a downwind climb at the Detroit City Airport, Detroit, Michigan. The airplane was being used in banner tow operations. The airplane had hooked the banner, but cut it loose when the airplane appeared to stall. The pilot requested a go around and had turned downwind when the airplane impacted the ground. The commercial pilot received serious injuries. The 14 CFR Part 91 flight had departed Toledo, Ohio, at 1545 EDT and had flown to Detroit City Airport for the banner tow flights. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The pilot reported he had made two successful banner tows before the accident occurred. He reported that on the third banner tow, the hook "...missed the banner rope and grabbed one of the pick-up poles instead. It was my intent to keep my aircraft and attached pole over the airport to minimize the possibility of property damage or injury to people on the ground if the pole broke free of my hook." The pilot reported he attempted to stay within the airport boundary and he entered a climbing left turn. He reported, "I added too much left rudder which immediately put me into a spin. Altitude at this point was approximately 300' AGL." He reported he attempted to do a spin recovery, but the airplane impacted the runway in a 30 degrees nose low attitude. The airplane bounced twice before it impacted a jet blast wall. The pilot reported he was knocked unconscious during the impact sequence and the airplane was destroyed.