- Date
- May 30, 1991, 12:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Bluffs, IL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N4887QCessna A188B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 28, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910530018339A
- Case key
- 14861
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 NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control.
Analysis
The pilot commenced his fourth takeoff at the accident location for aerial application of herbicide. The runway consisted of a crowned blacktop road, 25 feet wide, flanked on either side by a ditch 4 feet deep. The pilot stated the airplane veered right at 2 to 3 feet above ground after liftoff, then rolled to inverted. Ground scars of the right wingtip start at the road edge and are followed by marks of the main gear and prop in the ditch. The airplane nosed over in a field beyond. The pilot reported no malfunction, and none was discovered.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4887Q
- Reported as
- Cessna A188B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18802623T
- Airframe hours
- 2,700
- Engine
- Continental I0-520-D23, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Bob Davis Flying Service, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Bob Davis Flying Service, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · January 25, 1991 · 40 hours before
- Airport
- NONE · See Narrative
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
- 43
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 4,500 total · 3,700 in this make and model · 4,700 as pilot in command · 65 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 210° at 16 knots
- Visibility
- 12 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 73 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SPI, 35 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.