Cessna A188 N78417

Summary

On 22 August 2018 at about 21:00 local time, a Cessna A188 registered N78417, operated by McElwain Sprayers, LLC, was involved in an accident near Atchison, Kansas, 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

22 August 2018 at 21:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Atchison, Kansas, United States

Nearest airport

Amelia Earhart Airport (K59)

Coordinates

39.5758, -95.1811

Aircraft

Cessna A188

Registration

N78417

Category

Airplane

Year built

1974

Operator

McElwain Sprayers, LLC

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Atchison → Atchison

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN18LA350

Nobody was injured.

The partial loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined during the postaccident examination.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot was conducting agricultural application operations. He reported that, after topping off the airplane with fuel and flying two loads, on the third takeoff, the airplane "would not come off the ground." He checked the engine controls, then dumped the load in an unsuccessful attempt to become airborne before the end of the runway. The airplane continued off the runway and impacted terrain, which resulted in substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. The airplane owner witnessed the attempted takeoff and reported that the engine puffed black smoke during the takeoff run. He added that the fuel servo provided a mixture that was too rich, so the pilots would reduce the mixture on the ground and then use a full rich mixture for takeoff. A visual examination of the engine did not reveal any evidence of anomalies. Although the appearance of black smoke from the engine is consistent with an overly rich fuel mixture, based on the information provided by the pilot and no anomalies found during the engine examination, the reason for the partial loss of engine power could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.