NTSB Determines Throttle Caused Fatal Blairstown Airport Crash

BLAIRSTOWN, N.J.– In a preliminary review of the fatal Nov. 10 crash at Blairstown Airport, National Transportation Safety Board inspectors determined that the throttle was in full forward position.

Samuel Singer, 73, of Warren Township suffered serious injuries and needed to be extricated from the aircraft after slamming into trees at 9:23 a.m., Blairstown police said in a statement.

He was airlifted to Morristown Medical Center, where he later died from his injuries, police said.

A witness said the plane had just been refueled before going full throttle across both runways and into the trees, according to police.

"After fueling the airplane and completion of a pre-flight inspection, the pilot started the engine and it went immediately to full power," the NTSB said in a statement. "The engine remained at full power and the airplane taxied at high speed into a tree."

Singer last flew the plane in Dec. 2015, when its' landing gear did not fully extend, according to the NTSB.

Blairstown Ambulance Corps, the Warren County Prosecutor's Office, Warren County Hazmat, Blairstown OEM, and paramedics from Atlantic assisted.

Image courtesy Blairstown Police Department