Cessna A188B N4797Q

Summary

On 23 August 1996 at about 00:05 local time, a Cessna A188B registered N4797Q was involved in an accident near Aitkin, Minnesota, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

23 August 1996 at 00:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Aitkin, Minnesota, United States

Coordinates

46.5306, -93.7101

Aircraft

Cessna A188B

Registration

N4797Q

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI96LA313

1 person was seriously injured.

the pilot's failure to maintain clearance from known transmission lines. Factors relating to this accident were the transmission lines and the sunglare which hindered the pilot's ability to see the transmission lines.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

A witness on the ground who was assisting the pilot with the aerial application as flagman said that the pilot had said to him over the radio that the sun was getting in his eyes and that he was having difficulty seeing him. The pilot had made a pass on the field from west to the east and turned left to head westbound into the sun. 'I turned away to step off for the next pass, heard my wife scream and looked over to see the airplane skid to a halt.' As the witness was going to the airplane, he noticed the power lines were down. Another witness on the ground, the flagman's wife, saw the airplane make a left turn at the east end of the field 'to come back west which was into the sun. The left side of the airplane was a little low at that point. He (the pilot) was coming down fast and hit the ground.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.