Cessna T188C accident near Mahew, Mississippi, March 14, 1982
On March 14, 1982 at about 3:25 pm local time, a Cessna T188C, registered N2965J, was destroyed in an accident near Mahew, Mississippi. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 1 person was killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 14, 1982 · about 3:25 pm local time
- Place
- Mahew, Mississippi
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Cessna T188C · all T188Cs on the register
- Registration
- N2965J · no longer on the register · serial 03585T
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING RETURN FLIGHT TO AIRPORT THE PILOT FLEW INTO A PREVIOUSLY TREATED FIELD FOR A CLEANUP SWATH RUN. APPROXIMATELY 1700 FEET FROM THE SOUTH END OF THE FIELD THE AIRCRAFT COLLIDED WITH A 3-STRAND STEEL TWISTED CABLE POWERLINE RUNNING EAST-WEST ACROSS THE FIELD.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,500 hours in all; 4,000 in this make and model; 200 in the last 90 days; 8,500 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,045 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 110 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,500 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520T (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Columbus MS at 9:15 am
- Destination: Columbus MS
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 12 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 86°F (30°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.