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NYC89LA058

1988-12-31 · SOMERVILLE, New Jersey, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport N52

N90393 has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (WEATHERLY AVIATION CO INC 620B, built 1995), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

IMPROPER INFLIGHT DECISIONS WHILE APPROACHING THE AIRPORT ON FINAL APPROACH WITH DEFECTIVE MAGNETOS. THE RIGHT FUEL SELECTOR WAS PLACED IN THE CLOSED POSITION, THE PILOT ATTEMPTED A GO AROUND, RAISED THE LANDING GEAR AND FLAPS, FAILED TO MAINTAIN VMC, AND CRASHED INTO WOODED TERRAIN.

Factual narrative

THE AIRCRAFT WAS ON FINAL APPROACH TO RUNWAY 30 AT SOMERSET AIRPORT, SOMERVILLE, NEW JERSEY WHEN THERE WAS A LOSS OF POWER OF THE RIGHT ENGINE. THE PILOT RAISED THE LANDING GEAR AND FLAPS, AND THE AIRCRAFT ROLLED TO THE RIGHT, DESCENDED TOWARD THE GROUND AND CRASHED. THE FUEL SELECTOR VALVE TO THE RIGHT WING TANK WAS IN THE CLOSED POSITION. THE RIGHT ENGINE MAGNETOS WERE DEFECTIVE. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1988_NYC89LA058.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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