Event NYC89LA058

1988-12-31 SOMERVILLE, New Jersey, United States Airport · N52 Serious 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N90393

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

WEATHERLY AVIATION CO INC 620B

Year of manufacture

1995

Engine

P&W R-985 SERIES (450 hp)

Seats / Engines

2 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

19970620

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S AC7E00

Registrant of record

SKYLINE AVIATION LLC

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N90393 Piper PA-60 Serious

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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