- Date
- June 14, 1988, 18:10 local (23:10 UTC)
- Place
- Dighton, KS
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N731CDCessna 188B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 16, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880614020229A
- Case key
- 34587
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
During an aerial application operation, the plt said that as he initiated liftoff, the acft turned to the left and he felt he had no rudder control. He hit a fence on the apt boundary, continued, dumped his chemical load, hit a tree, and landed in a field adjacent to a highway. A Kansas state highway patrolman stated he detected a strong odor of alcohol on the plt. The plt went to the local hospital for treatment of minor injuries but left prior to receiving treatment. Hospital employees also made mention of the odor of alcohol on the plt. The plt left the area immediately after departing the hospital and could not be reached for toxicology tests.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N731CD
- Reported as
- Cessna 188B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18802784T
- Airframe hours
- 1,339
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-D, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Wendler Air Ag
- Registered owner
- Clarence Wendler
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Departed
- K65
- Destination
- K65
- Airport
- K65 · Dighton, runway 18, 2,900 × 50 ft, dirt
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
- 36
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Invalid Medical for flight
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 5,000 total · 4,800 in this make and model · 5,000 as pilot in command · 50 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 20,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GCK, 40 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.