- Date
- August 19, 1994, 07:20 local (12:20 UTC)
- Place
- Sublette, KS
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N133MCCessna 188
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 24, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940819022229A
- Case key
- 9647
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
improper preflight planning by the pilot. Factors associated with the accident were the delayed jettisoning of the airplane's hopper load and the inability of the airplane to climb.
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.
Analysis
The pilot loaded the airplane with 900 pounds of wheat seed. He said the takeoff required the entire length of the pasture runway to get airborne. The airplane would not climb after getting airborne and the pilot said the load was not jettisoned fast enough to prevent the airplane from colliding with an irrigation sprinkler and the ground.
Factual narrative
On August 19, 1994, at 0720 central daylight time (cdt), a Cessna 188, N133MC, registered to Max Birney Aerial Spraying Service, Incorporated of Sublette, Kansas, and piloted by a private pilot, was substantially damaged during a collision with an irrigation sprinkler and the ground shortly after takeoff. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The 14 CFR Part 137 flight was not operating on a flight plan. The pilot reported minor injuries. The flight departed a farm field 16 miles northwest of Sublette, Kansas, at 0720 cdt.
According to the pilot's statement on NTSB Form 6120.1/2, the airplane was loaded with "...900 pounds of wheat seed...." The pilot said the airplane "took the entire length of the pasture runway to get airborne." He said the airplane was "... too heavy and would not gain altitude." The load was not jettisoned in time and the airplane collided with an irrigation sprinkler and ground according to the pilot.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N133MC
- Reported as
- Cessna 188
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 188019147
- Airframe hours
- 5,030
- Engine
- Continental IO-520, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Max Birney Aerial Spraying Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 7, 1994 · 250 hours before
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
- 33
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 1,000 total · 800 as pilot in command · 10 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 0° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 3 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,000 ft
- Temperature
- 75 °F
- Observed at
- GCK, 26 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.