- Date
- September 6, 2010, 10:45 local (15:45 UTC)
- Place
- Hondo, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N731PQCessna A188B
- Defining event
- Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 5, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20100906043749A
- Case key
- 77268
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot’s delayed action to arrest the airplane’s descent, which resulted in a collision with terrain.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The agricultural pilot arrived at a field for an aerial application flight. After two successful passes, he approached a static wire that was about 100 feet above ground level. Once clear of the wire the pilot descended toward the crop surface and attempted to level the airplane. He could not arrest the descent in time and the airplane’s landing gear contacted the crop, separating the right main landing gear from the fuselage. Shortly thereafter, the airplane impacted the ground and slid to a stop in an upright position, sustaining substantial damage to the fuselage and left wing. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The agricultural pilot arrived at a field for an aerial application flight. After two successful passes, he approached a static wire that was about 100 feet above ground level. Once clear of the wire the pilot descended toward the crop surface and attempted to level the airplane. He could not arrest the descent in time and the airplane’s landing gear contacted the crop, separating the right main landing gear from the fuselage. Shortly thereafter, the airplane impacted the ground and slid to a stop in an upright position, sustaining substantial damage to the fuselage and left wing. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N731PQ
- Reported as
- Cessna A188B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18803051T
- Airframe hours
- 6,876
- Engine
- Cont Motor IO 520 SERIES, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 137
- Operator
- Torkelson Flying Service Inc
- Registered owner
- Torkelson Flying Service Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 1, 2009
- Departed
- CVB · Castroville, TX
- Destination
- CVB · Castroville, TX
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 29
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Single
- Flight hours
- 5,744 total · 3,000 in this make and model · 5,120 as pilot in command · 500 in the last 90 days · 100 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 110° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 75 °F
- Observed at
- CVB, 15 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 9, 2010, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.7 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.