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NYC91LA056

1991-01-01 · PRINCETON, New Jersey, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 39N

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

PILOT FACTOR IN THAT THE PILOT FAILED TO USE CARBURETOR HEAT RESULTING IN ENGINE POWER LOSS DUE TO CARBURETOR ICE. FACTORS WERE UNSUITABLE TERRAIN AND OBSTRUCTIONS.

Factual narrative

SHORTLY AFTER DEPARTING RUNWAY 28 AT PRINCETON AIRPORT, AT ABOUT 800 FEET, THE AIRPLANE ENGINE SUDDENLY LOST POWER. THE PILOT SAID THAT HE MADE A RIGHT TURN AND ATTEMPTED A LANDING IN A CLEARED FIELD ADJACENT TO THE DEPARTURE END OF RUNWAY 28. AS HE APPROACHED GROUND LEVEL, HE BANKED LEFT TO AVOID A LARGE TREE IN FRONT OF THE RIGHT WING. THE LEFT WING TIP, LEFT MAIN GEAR, AND NOSE OF THE AIRPLANE HIT THE GROUND. ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS WERE CONDUCIVE TO CARBURETOR ICE. THE FAA INSPECTORS REPORTED THE AIRPLANE ENGINE WAS REMOVED FROM THE AIRPLANE PRIOR TO THEIR ARRIVAL AT THE ACCIDENT SITE. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_NYC91LA056.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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