- Date
- August 16, 1996, 15:15 local (20:15 UTC)
- Place
- Walnut Grove, MN
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N2081JCessna 188
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 23, 1997
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960816033219A
- Case key
- 10365
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 failure to maintain proper clearance from the transmission wire.
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 reported that he was spraying a field heading to the south. As he went under a power line, the left wing tip hit a wire. The pilot reported losing control of the aircraft and crashing in a field.
Factual narrative
On August 16, 1996, at 1515 central daylight time, a Cessna 188, N2081J, operated by Miller Aerial Spraying, was substantially damaged when the airplane hit a wire and impacted the ground. The commercial pilot received serious injuries. The 14 CFR Part 137 flight had departed Tracy Municipal Airport, Tracy, Minnesota, on a local flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed.
The pilot reported that he was spraying a field heading to the south. He reported that as he went under a power line, the left wing tip hit a wire. The pilot reported losing control of the aircraft and crashing in a field.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2081J
- Reported as
- Cessna 188
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- T18803371
- Airframe hours
- 3,061
- Engine
- Continental TSIO-520, 310 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- William L. Miller
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 1, 1996 · 68 hours before
- Departed
- Y68 · Garvin, MN
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
- 61
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 8,000 total · 3,900 in this make and model · 100 in the last 90 days · 60 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 150° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- RWF, 25 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.