Amateur-built AGRIPLANE accident near Freehold, New Jersey, July 3, 1988
On July 3, 1988 at about 11:20 am local time, a amateur-built AGRIPLANE (ultralight), registered N54472, was substantially damaged in an accident near Freehold, New Jersey. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. 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
- July 3, 1988 · about 11:20 am local time
- Place
- Freehold, New Jersey
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built AGRIPLANE
- Registration
- N54472 · no longer on the register · serial SAR0113XA
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT WAS WORKING FOR A FIRM THAT WAS DEVELOPING THE EXPERIMENTAL, LIGHT WEIGHT, CROP DUSTER IN A JOINT VENTURE WITH ANOTHER FIRM. AN ACDNT OCCURRED AS HE WAS OPERATING THE ACFT AT THE LOCATION OF ONE OF THE FIRMS. THE PLT STATED THAT AFTER TAKEOFF, 'I WAS JUST FLYING, DOING SOME TURNS. DURING MY FLIGHT I FELT MY LEFT WING GO DOWN. I TRIED TO CORRECT IT USING PROPER PROCEDURES AND I WASN'T ABLE TO. I WENT INTO A LEFT TURN SPIRAL DIVE . . . AND CRASHED. A WITNESS RPRTD HE 'GLANCED' AT THE 'ULTRALIGHT' BEFORE IT CRASHED. ACCORDING TO HIM, THE ACFT ENTERED A STEEP DSCNT BEFORE THE 'WING TIP HIT THE GROUND,' THEN THE ACFT ROLLED OVER. ALSO, HE SAID THE PLANE APPEARED TO BE IN A TURN AT THE TIME. THE PLT RPRTD THAT HE HAD FLOWN THE ACFT ABOUT 9 TIMES BEFORE THE ACDNT.
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
- Flight time: 1,569 hours in all; 10 in this make and model; 5 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 27, 1988; 2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 816 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 532 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: NONE Freehold NJ
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.