Cessna A188B N3047J

Summary

On 4 August 2017 at about 14:00 local time, a Cessna A188B registered N3047J was involved in an accident near Marshall, Missouri, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

4 August 2017 at 14:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Marshall, Missouri, United States

Nearest airport

Marshall Memorial Muni (MHL)

Coordinates

39.0956, -93.2028

Aircraft

Cessna A188B

Registration

N3047J

Category

Airplane

Year built

1979

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Marshall → Marshall

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN17LA303

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inability to accurately monitor the airplane's airspeed after takeoff due to an inoperative airspeed indicator, which resulted in the pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed and his exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack and the subsequent aerodynamic stall/mush and degraded climb performance.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After takeoff for the agricultural application flight and when the commercial pilot reduced engine power to climb, the engine "surged." He increased the throttle, but the engine "surged" again. He subsequently applied full throttle, but he was unable to maintain a positive climb rate. The airplane gradually settled into a bean field off the end of the runway. The airplane impacted a fence before coming to rest in an adjacent field. The pilot stated that the airplane seemed to be "sagging" after takeoff but that the engine instrument indications appeared to be normal. Postaccident engine examination did not reveal evidence of any preimpact anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The reason for the engine surging reported by the pilot could not be determined. According to the pilot, the airspeed indicator was inoperative at the time of the accident. It is likely that the pilot's inability to monitor the airspeed due to the lack of an operative airspeed indicator led to the pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed, his exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack and the subsequent aerodynamic stall/mush and degraded climb performance.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.