Dassault FALCON 10 accident near Trenton, New Jersey, January 30, 1984
On January 30, 1984 at about 12:50 pm local time, a Dassault FALCON 10, registered N10AH, was substantially damaged in an accident near Trenton, New Jersey (Unk. airport). It was an executive or corporate flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 30, 1984 · about 12:50 pm local time
- Place
- Trenton, New Jersey · Unk.
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Dassault FALCON 10 · all FALCON 10s on the register
- Registration
- N10AH · no longer on the register · serial 139
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Executive or corporate flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DISTRACTED BY AN INTERRUPTION IN TAXI AND DEPARTURE ROUTINES, THE PILOT RESET HIS ALTITUDE ALERT CONTROLLER TO TWO HUNDRED FEET INSTEAD OF TWO THOUSAND FEET, HIS AMMENDED CLEARANCE ALTITUDE. TAKING OFF ON INSTRUMENTS IN THE DENSE MORNING FOG, THE ALERT SYSTEM COMMANDED A LEVEL-OFF AND THE AIRCRAFT COLLIDED WITH TREES, APPROXIMATELY 161 FTABOVE SEA LEVEL. A POSITIVE RATE OF CLIMB WAS OBTAINED, VFR CONDITIONS WERE REACHED AND THE AIRCRAFT DIVERTED TO THE NEAREST CLEAR AIRPORT WHERE A SAFE LANDING WAS ACCOMPLISHED.
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: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 4,900 hours in all; 550 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,552 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, November 18, 1983; 52 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 18,740 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett TFE 731-2-1C (turbojet); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: TTN Trenton NJ at 1:05 pm
- Destination: SNA Santa Ana CA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: scat at 1,000 ft
- Temperature: 19°F (-7°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:30 am from TTN, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number NYC84FA078.