- Date
- May 20, 1989, 15:30 local (20:30 UTC)
- Place
- La Coste, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N731STCessna A188B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 2, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890520012159A
- Case key
- 22743
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 attain sufficient airspeed for flight at departure.
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 restricted category agricultural aircraft was departing from a dirt runway at a private airstrip when the aircraft impacted into a corn field after reaching an altitude of ten feet. The pilot was not injured, but the aircraft sustained substantial damage and spilled the load of ethyl parathion, a toxic liquid chemical. There was no mechnical failure of the aircraft found during the on site inspection.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N731ST
- Reported as
- Cessna A188B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18803125T
- Airframe hours
- 4,611
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-D, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Charles A. Torkelson, doing business as Torkelson Flying Service
- Registered owner
- Torkelson, Charles A
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 4, 1989 · 130 hours before
- Departed
- NONE · La Coste, TX
- Airport
- NONE
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
- 44
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 7,700 total · 450 in this make and model · 7,580 as pilot in command · 100 in the last 90 days · 60 in the last 30 days · 10 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 140° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 93 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- HDO, 20 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.
Other investigations on N731ST · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.