Cessna A188B N8075G

Summary

On 19 August 2023 at about 15:00 local time, a Cessna A188B registered N8075G, operated by Vaughns Flying Service Inc, was involved in an accident near Bay Port, Michigan, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

19 August 2023 at 15:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Bay Port, Michigan, United States

Coordinates

43.8803, -83.2875

Aircraft

Cessna A188B

Registration

N8075G

Category

Airplane

Year built

1973

Engines

1

Operator

Vaughns Flying Service Inc

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN23LA374

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot’s decision to takeoff from a soft wet runway with a quartering tailwind which resulted in a lack of climb performance and impact with terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he was beginning his fourth agricultural application flight of the day and that the air temperature and wind speed had increased from previous flights that morning. He began the takeoff roll to the north on the soft, wet runway and noted that toward the end of the runway, the airplane entered “ground effect” and had difficulty climbing. He attempted a slight right turn to avoid trees on the northwest end of the runway and the airplane descended into a soybean field and impacted a drainage ditch. The airplane nosed over and tumbled multiple times which resulted in substantial damage to both wings, fuselage, and empennage. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The nearest recorded weather observation reported the wind from 240° at 6 knots, which resulted in a left quartering tailwind for the takeoff.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.