Linden Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Linden, New Jersey 07036
Wednesday, July 2, 2003 12:15 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The purpose of the flight was to ferry the airplane to a maintenance facility to have the carburetor examined. During the takeoff climb, about 300 feet above the ground, the engine began to "run rough" for about 10 seconds, then lost total power. The pilot performed a forced landing to the only grass area in the vicinity, and during the landing, the airplane impacted a gas pipeline. Examination of the engine revealed that the mixture control wire was not secured to the mixture control arm pivot bolt. A review of the maintenance records revealed the carburetor was replaced five days prior to the accident, with the entry stating, "..set idle speed and mixture to specs."

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The mechanic's improper installation of the carburetor, and his failure to secure the mixture control wire to the mixture control arm pivot bolt.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/2/2003
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1215
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Linden
Event State NEW JERSEY
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 07036
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 403702N
Event Location Longitude 0741440W
Event Location Airport Linden Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID LDJ
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 180
Airport Elevation 23
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1151 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 220
Weather Observation Facility ID EWR
Elevation of weather observation facility 18
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 6
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 25000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 4000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 15
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 170
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.99
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 15382
NTSB Notification Source FAA EROC
NTSB Notification Date Jul 2 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1550
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 28 2004 3:34PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Teterboro FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N314TM
NTSB Number NYC03LA146
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 172N
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17270052
Certified Max Gross Weight 2400
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 Oct 4 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 197
Airframe Hours 6080
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Richmond Pilots Association
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Staten Island
Aircraft Owner State NY
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 10312
Operator is an individual? No
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? --
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) Positioning
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code LDJ
Departure City Linden
Departure State NJ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1215
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code 39N
Destination City Princeton
Destination State NJ
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Mar 15 2004 11:13AM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 27
Runway Length 4137
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --