Cessna A188 N9076R

Summary

On 17 August 2018 at about 23:15 local time, a Cessna A188 registered N9076R, operated by Tri Rotor Spray & Chemical, was involved in an accident near Whitewater, 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

17 August 2018 at 23:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Whitewater, Kansas, United States

Coordinates

37.9992, -97.1153

Aircraft

Cessna A188

Registration

N9076R

Category

Airplane

Year built

1975

Operator

Tri Rotor Spray & Chemical

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Newton → Newton

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN18LA342

Nobody was injured.

The partial loss of engine power due to low cylinder compression, which led to the forced landing following a pull-up maneuver. Contributing to the accident was the airplane’s high gross weight.  

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was performing an aerial application flight with the airplane loaded with product near its maximum gross weight. As the pilot pulled up to reverse course after the second application pass, the airplane did not fly as expected. Because of his low altitude, he conducted a forced landing in the cornfield. The airplane came to rest upright and sustained substantial damage to left wing, vertical stabilizer, horizontal stabilizers, elevators, and rudder. A postaccident examination of the engine revealed that one of the cylinders had low compression. This would have resulted in a partial loss of engine power. It is likely the airplane was at a low energy state during the pull-up maneuver to reverse direction, and the partial engine power loss would have further reduced the airplane's energy. These issues, combined with the airplane's high gross weight, would have made sustained flight difficult.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.