Cessna A188B accident near Trenton, Alabama, August 5, 1985
On August 5, 1985 at about 4:20 pm local time, a Cessna A188B, registered N21708, was destroyed in an accident near Trenton, Alabama. 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
- August 5, 1985 · about 4:20 pm local time
- Place
- Trenton, Alabama · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna A188B · all A188Bs on the register
- Registration
- N21708 · no longer on the register · serial 18800975T
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT STATED THAT THE ENG LOST POWER WHILE HE WAS MANEUVERING FOR ANOTHER SPRAY RUN OVER THE FIELD. THE AIRCRAFT SETTLED INTO THE TREES AND A POST-CRASH FIRE DEVELOPED.
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; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 10,000 hours in all; 5,000 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,640 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 20, 1985; 100 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,500 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO 520 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: M82 Meridianville AL at 5:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 140° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 25,000 ft; scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:50 pm from HSV, 8 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.
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.