- Date
- February 23, 1995, 11:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- Elmira, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N731CZCessna A-188B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 19, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19950223002339A
- Case key
- 29043
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 control of the aircraft after an inadvertent encounter with the wake turbulence from a preceding agricultural aircraft while maneuvering at low altitude.
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 completed his second swath run and rolled into a 90-270 degree turn at about 100-feet AGL. After rolling from the left back to the right, he felt the aircraft encounter an area of turbulent air. Believing that he had inadvertently flown across the vortex turbulence generated by another aircraft in the area, he said the turbulence caused his aircraft to descend and the right wing contacted the ground before he could react and recover. The pilot stated, that at the time of accident, the aircraft's gross weight was approximately 3,700 pounds.
Factual narrative
History of flight
On February 23, 1995, at 1130 hours Pacific standard time, a Cessna A-188B, N731CZ, collided with the ground while maneuvering 1.5 miles south of Elmira, California. The aircraft was owned and operated by an agricultural operator and was conducting an aerial application flight under 14 CFR Part 137 of Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs). Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the operation. The aircraft sustained substantial damage. The certified commercial pilot was not injured. The flight originated from a private agricultural strip in Dixon, California, at 1110 on the day of the accident.
The pilot completed his second swath run on a heading of 225 degrees and rolled into a 90-270 degree turn at about 100-feet agl. The pilot reported that, after rolling from the left back to right, he felt the aircraft encounter an area of turbulent air near the surface. He stated that he believed that he had inadvertently flown across the vortex turbulence generated by another aircraft that had just departed the area he was working. He said the turbulence caused his aircraft to descend abruptly which resulted in the aircraft's right wing contacting the ground before he could react and recover.
After colliding with the ground by the right wing and right gear, the aircraft rolled onto its right side before coming to rest. The pilot stated that at the time of accident, the aircraft's gross weight was approximately 3,700 pounds.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N731CZ
- Reported as
- Cessna A-188B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18802803T
- Airframe hours
- 3,757
- Engine
- Continental IO-520D, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- William & Margret Joslin, doing business as William D. Joslin
- Registered owner
- William & Margret Joslin
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 29, 1994 · 189 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
- 35
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 1,294 total · 84 in this make and model · 1,223 as pilot in command · 177 in the last 90 days · 89 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 70° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 4 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,000 ft overcast
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SUU, 5 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.