Piper PA-60-600 incident near Binghamton, New York, September 9, 1986
On September 9, 1986 at about 11:11 am local time, a Piper PA-60-600, registered N90349, suffered minor damage in an incident near Binghamton, New York (Edwin A. Link Field). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 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 NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this incident. 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
- September 9, 1986 · about 11:11 am local time
- Place
- Binghamton, New York · Edwin A. Link Field · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-60-600 · all PA-60-600s on the register
- Registration
- N90349 · registry record · serial 60-0202090
- Damage
- Minor 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 PLT STATED THAT AFTER LEVELING OFF AT 9000 FT MSL. HE HEARD A POP FOLLOWED BY AN EXPLOSION IN THE LEFT ENG. THE ENTIRE LEFT SIDE OF THE UPPER COWLING WAS PROTRUDING INTO THE AIRSTREAM WHICH CAUSED THE AIRCRAFT TO ROLL TO THE RIGHT. THE PILOT HAD TO USE FULL RIGHT RUDDER & HALF LEFT AILERON DEFLECTION TO MAINTAIN CONTROL. UNABLE TO MAINTAIN ALT AT BLUE LINE, AN EMERGENCY WAS DECLARED & RADAR VECTORS REQUESTED TO NEAREST AIRPORT. WHEN THE AIRPORT PERIMETER WAS CROSSED THE ACFT WAS LESS THAN 10 FT ABOVE THE GROUND. PILOT ELECTED TO LAND GEAR UP ON THE GRASS BETWEEN THE RUNWAY & TAXIWAY. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE EXPLOSION WAS CAUSED BY A FAILED CYLINDER.
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, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,718 hours in all; 1,497 in this make and model; 250 in the last 90 days; 3,568 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,604 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, August 14, 1986; 60 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,500 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming 10-540-K1F5 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Air Continental,Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: BUF Buffalo NY at 10:10 am
- Destination: TEB Teterboro NJ
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 230° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 25 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 41°F (5°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:04 am from BGM
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.
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.