Marlboro Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Matawan, New Jersey 07747
Sunday, August 26, 2001 20:30 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During nighttime conditions, the airplane approached runway 09, a 2,156-foot long, 50-foot wide, asphalt runway. The airplane touched down near the opposite end of the runway, almost on the numbers "27." The engine then revved, and the airplane initially climbed, but it turned left and struck transmission wires. The tower that supported the transmission wires was approximately 133 feet tall, and unlighted. It was located adjacent to the runway, about 1,260 feet northeast of the departure end of runway 09. Additionally, there 56-foot tall transmission wires located approximately 860 feet beyond the departure end of the runway, and perpendicular to it. However, review of an Information Manual for the make and model airplane revealed sufficient horizontal distance remained for the airplane to climb above those wires. The pilot obtained his private pilot certificate 4 days prior to the accident. According to his logbook, the pilot had a total flight experience of 87 hours, of which, about 12 hours were in the same make and model as the accident airplane. The pilot also had a total nighttime flying experience of approximately 5 hours. The reported wind about 5 minutes after the accident, at an airport about 10 miles southeast of the accident site was from 210 degrees at 8 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain runway alignment during the initial climb. Factors were the pilot's failure to perform a go-around, the pilot's lack of flight experience in nighttime conditions, the nighttime conditions, and a tailwind.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/26/2001
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 2030
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Matawan
Event State NEW JERSEY
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 07747
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 402208N
Event Location Longitude 0741453W
Event Location Airport Marlboro Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 2N8
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.5
Degrees magnetic from airport 60
Airport Elevation 122
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 2035 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 130
Weather Observation Facility ID BLM
Elevation of weather observation facility 159
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 10
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 17
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 210
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.97
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
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) 13091
NTSB Notification Source FAA Eastern Region Comm Center
NTSB Notification Date Aug 26 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2135
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record May 1 2003 7:34AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Teterboro, NJ

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N629PD
NTSB Number NYC01FA217
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 172SP
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 172S8368
Certified Max Gross Weight 2550
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 Jul 17 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 69
Airframe Hours 469
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Marlboro Flight Services
Aircraft Owner Street Address Marlboro Airport
Aircraft Owner City Marlboro
Aircraft Owner State NJ
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 07746
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Esquire Aviation Inc.
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Freehold
Operator State NJ
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 07728
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code 2N8
Departure City Marlboro
Departure State NJ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 2015
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Mar 26 2002 1:59PM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 09
Runway Length 2156
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --