Cessna 188B accident near Luddwici, Georgia, September 8, 1983
On September 8, 1983 at about 6:00 pm local time, a Cessna 188B, registered N73113, was destroyed in an accident near Luddwici, Georgia. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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
- September 8, 1983 · about 6:00 pm local time
- Place
- Luddwici, Georgia · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 188B · all 188Bs on the register
- Registration
- N73113 · registry record · serial 18802759T
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT CRASHED INTO TREES AND BURNED DURING A TAKEOFF ATTEMPT ON A COUNTRY ROAD WITH 120 GALLONS OF AERIAL SPRAY ON BOARD. THIS WAS THE 1ST TAKEOFF AFTER LUNCH AND THE PLT SAID THE ACFT SEEMED'GLUED TO THE ROAD'. SEEING THAT HE WAS GOING TO IMPACT WIRES HE DUMPED MOST OF HIS LOAD. THE ACFT MADE IT OVER THE OBSTACLES BUT STARTED TO SETTLE SO THE PLT DUMPED THE REMAINDER OF THE LOAD. THE ACFT STRUCK THE TOPS OF SOME TREES AND CRASHED IN A SWAMP.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land
- Flight time: 2,820 hours in all; 1,953 in this make and model; 161 in the last 90 days; 2,738 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,334 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 8, 1983
- Maximum gross weight: 3,300 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: Ludowici GA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 320° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; scat
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 75°F (24°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:58 pm from AMC, 35 miles away
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.
Other NTSB records under N73113 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.