This tragic accident illustrates how difficult this kind of work can be and how narrow the margin is for pilot error or quickly unfavourable wind conditions can quickly lead towards the 'incident pit.'
Very few pilots and most certainly not the general public recognise that one simply doesn't strap on an aircraft and pick-up a banner, which is why only a handful of pilots actually do the job here in the UK and about the same in Europe.
You have to be
very sensitive indeed to crosswinds and in the summer, turbulence close to the ground on the pick-up where it's most likely to go horribly wrong. You have to be absolutely stable in the last few seconds and then nail the right airspeed on the way out or events can catch up with you very quickly.
Here's a video I did earlier which shows people how quickly it all happens!
Fly safe and if it doesn't look right then it probably isn't!
YouTube - ‪Radio One - Plane Banners at the Big Weekend' - Airads & Gatecrasher.com‬‏