Central Jersey Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Hillsborough, New Jersey 08876
Saturday, May 29, 1999 15:45 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot could not figure out how to get the starter to engage, so he radioed for assistance. The pilot was then told to rotate the ignition switch all the way to the right, and then push in. The starter engaged. The pilot then taxied to the runway, preformed a run-up check, and departed. After becoming airborne, the airplane assumed a 10 to 15 degree climb attitude, and turned left 20 degrees for noise abatement. According to a witness, after completing the turn and reaching approximately 200 feet above ground level, the airplane stalled. The nose of the airplane pitched up and down, but never went below the horizon. The airplane's right wing then impacted a tree, rolled inverted, and impacted the ground in a nose low attitude. No pre-impact failures or malfunctions were discovered during the examination of the wreckage. The pilot had logged a total of 117 hours of flight experience and was signed off in the accident airplane approximately 2 months before the accident. No documentation was discovered that indicated the pilot had any flight experience in the accident airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall. A factor in the accident was the pilot's lack of experience in the accident airplane's make and model.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/29/1999
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1545
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City HILLSBOROUGH
Event State NEW JERSEY
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 08876
Event Date Year 1999
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport CENTRAL JERSEY REGIONAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 47N
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 86
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1551 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 61
Weather Observation Facility ID EWR
Elevation of weather observation facility 5
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 26
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 6500
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 32
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 12
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 310
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 15
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 19
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal 2
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 640
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date May 29 1999 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1615
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 12 2000 11:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N98122
NTSB Number NYC99FA125
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-28-140
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-28-140
Aircraft Serial Number 28-26055
Certified Max Gross Weight 2150
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Dec 15 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 51
Airframe Hours 8175
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name MILLSTONE VALLEY FLT SCHOOL
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1034 MILLSTONE RIVER RD
Aircraft Owner City SOMERVILLE
Aircraft Owner State NJ
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 08876
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code 47N
Departure City SOMERVILLE
Departure State NJ
Departure Country
Departure Time 1545
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Climb
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:35AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 25
Runway Length 3509
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --