# Accident 19980304002549A: Piper PA23160, Somerville, NJ, March 4, 1998 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: March 4, 1998, 14:10 local time - Place: Somerville, NJ - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Normal Cruise - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 40.5697° N, 74.6077° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Somerville, NJ, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.5697&lon=-74.6077&mi=10 - Aircraft: N3374P, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N3374P-1998-09-28) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-23-160 (registry code 7102304, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-23-160) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA23160 - Reported engine: LYC O320B3B - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 2 - Pilot flight hours: 725 total - NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC98FA073](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC98FA073) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980304002549A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ON MARCH 4, 1998, ABOUT 1410 EASTERN STANDARD TIME, A PIPER PA-23-160, N3374P, WAS DESTROYED WHEN STRUCK A MULTIPLE FAMILY DWELLING IN SOMERVILE, NEW JERSEY. THE CERTIFICATED PRIVATE PILOT AND PILOT RATED PASSENGER WERE FATALLY INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR PART 91. NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED FOR THE FLIGHT, WHICH DEPARTED FROM GREENWOOD LAKE AIRPORT (4N1), WEST MILFORD, NEW JERSEY, ABOUT 1350. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM MARLBORO AIRPORT (2NB), MATAWAN, NEW JERSEY, EARLIER IN THE DAY. THE PILOTS FLEW TO OLD BRIDGE AIRPORT (3N6), ENGLISH TOWN, NEW JERSEY, WHERE THE AIRPLANE WAS SERVICED WITH 50.1 GALLONS OF 100 LOW LEAD AVIATION GRADE GASOLINE. THE FLIGHT THEN DEPARTED FOR 4N1 WHERE THE PILOTS ATE LUNCH, AND THEN DEPARTED FOR MARLBORO AIRPORT. SEVERAL WITNESSES IN THE ACCIDENT SITE AREA OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE. MOST OF THE WITNESSES REPORTED THEY HEARD A NOISE, LOOKED UP, AND OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE IN A NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE. SOME REPORTED IT WAS SPINNING AS IT DESCENDED, WHILE OTHERS REPORTED SEEING PARTS OF THE AIRPLANE DESCENDING. ONE WITNESS LOCATED IN A HOUSING COMPLEX NORTH OF THE ACCIDENT SITE REPORTED TAT HE OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE OVERFLY HIS LOCATION HEADING TO THE SOUTH. AFTER THE AIRPLANE HAD PASSED HIS LOCATION, HE CONTINUED TO WATCH IT. THE WITNESS OBSERVED THE TOP OF THE TAIL START TO OSCILLATE WITH INCREASING INTENSITY, AND THEN THE ENTIRE TAIL SECTION SEPARATED FROM THE AIRPLANE, AFTER WHICH THE AIRPLANE NOSED DOWN. ANTOHER WITNESS LOCATED ABOUT 1/2 MILE NORTH OF THE ACCIDENT SITE SAW A LARGE NUMBER OF BIRDS FLYING IN THE AREA, AND THEN SAW THE AIRPLANE WHICH SHE FIRST THOUGHT WAS A BIRD. AS SHE WATCHED THE AIRPLANE IT SUDDENLY DIPPED AND THEN DESCENDED. SHE SAW PARTS SEPARATE FROM THE AIRPLANE AND WATCHED THE IT UNTIL IT DISAPPEARED FROM VIEW. SHE SAID THE BIRDS WERE FLYING INDEPENDENTLY OF EACH OTHER NOT IN A FLOCK. THE AIRPLANE STRUCK THE ROOF OF A MULTIPLE FAMILY CONDOMINIUM DEWELLING, AND EXITED THROUGH THE FRONT WALL. THE AIRPLANE CAME TO REST IN THE STREET IN FRONT OF THE BUILDING. THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED DURING THE HOURS OF DAYLIGHT AT 40 DEGREES, 30 MINUTES, 45.9 SECONDS NORTH LATITUDE AND 74 DEGREES, 38 MINUTES, 05.9 SECONDS WEST LONGITUDE. (-23) IMPACT WITH APARTMENT BUILDING AND GROUND RESULTED IN TWO FATALITIES, BOTH CREW MEMBERS ON THE AIRCRAFT. PARTS OF TAIL SECTION INCLUDING VERTICAL FIN, RUDDER, HORIZONTAL STABILIZER, ELEVATORS, DORSAL FIN AND LEFT TAIL SECTION FOUND 200 TO 300 YARDS FROM FUSELAGE IMPACT SITE. LEFT AND RIGHT WING TIPS FOUND APPROXIMATELY 200 YARDS FROM IMPACT. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB NYC98FA073](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC98FA073), Mar 4, 1998: Piper PA-23-160 (N3374P), Somerville, NJ, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: in-flight separation of the empennage for undetermined reasons. "THIS CASE WAS MODIFIED AUGUST 2, 2006." From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.