Cessna 401A accident near Linden, New Jersey, February 18, 1984
On February 18, 1984 at about 9:01 pm local time, a Cessna 401A, registered N6252Q, was substantially damaged in an accident near Linden, New Jersey (Linden airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 18, 1984 · about 9:01 pm local time
- Place
- Linden, New Jersey · Linden
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 401A · all 401As on the register
- Registration
- N6252Q · no longer on the register · serial 401A0052
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE MAIN LANDING GEAR COLLAPSED AFTER LANDING. A CFI AWAITING TAKEOFF SAID THAT THE APPROACH AND TOUCHDOWN WERE NORMAL WITH THE GEAR DOWN. AS THE ACFT ROLLED THE LEFT MAIN GEAR COLLAPSED AND THE ACFT GRADUALLY LEFT THE RWY AND BECAME MIREDIN MUD. INSPECTION REVEALED THAT THE LEFT MAIN GEAR RETRACTION BELLCRANK WAS BROKEN FREE FROM ITS MOUNTING CLEVIS. THE ATTACH BOLT WAS FRACTURED NEAR THE HEAD. THE FOWARD CLEVIS EAR WAS BROKEN. NEITHER THE BOLT HEAD NOR THE FRACTURED PORTION OF THE FOWARD CLEVIS EAR WERE RECOVERED.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,881 hours in all; 164 in this make and model; 224 in the last 90 days; 1,707 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,090 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection; 21 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,300 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520E (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: RIC Richmond VA at 7:32 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 27, 4,137 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 330° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,500 ft; not recorded at 3,500 ft
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:50 pm from EWR, 5 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
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.