Luscombe LL-8-C accident near Caldwell, New Jersey, November 5, 1998
On November 5, 1998 at about 6:54 pm local time, a Luscombe LL-8-C, registered N2619K, was substantially damaged in an accident near Caldwell, New Jersey (Essex County airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot-in-command's failure to maintain directional control resulting in a ground-loop.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 5, 1998 · about 6:54 pm local time
- Place
- Caldwell, New Jersey · Essex County
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Luscombe LL-8-C
- Registration
- N2619K · registry record · serial 5346
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that after an uneventful landing on runway 22 at the Essex County airport, the brakes locked and the airplane ground looped. A tower controller reported observing the aircraft land on runway 22 and then veer off the runway into the grass on the north side of taxiway bravo which is located approximately 1,500 feet upwind of the threshold for the runway, and is the first available taxiway exit to the midfield ramp area. Winds at the time of the accident were reported as variable at six knots. A maintenance representative from a local fixed base operator (FBO) recalled that several of his employees freely rolled the aircraft on its main wheels off the runway to the FBO's ramp subsequent to the accident. The aircraft was transported via flatbed truck from the Essex County Airport to Sky Acres airport, Lagrangeville, New York, for repairs. The facility effecting repairs reported that the post accident repairs included 'servicing of the brakes' but that no other corrective repair work had been done on the aircraft's Cleveland brakes.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 355 hours in all; 103 in this make and model; 17 in the last 90 days; 300 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,067 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 1,200 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental C-85-12 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CDW NJ
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 22, 4,553 ft by 80 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:51 pm from TEB, 10 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N2619K the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.