Cessna 188 accident near Messic, North Carolina, May 18, 1988
On May 18, 1988 at about 8:20 pm local time, a Cessna 188, registered N8250G, was destroyed in an accident near Messic, North Carolina. 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
- May 18, 1988 · about 8:20 pm local time
- Place
- Messic, North Carolina · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 188 · all 188s on the register
- Registration
- N8250G · no longer on the register · serial 18801266T
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING TURNAROUND PROCEDURES, THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH TREES AND CRASHED. THE PILOT INDICATED THAT HE HAD SPRAYED THE FIELD WHERE THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED MANY TIMES DURING THE PAST THREE YEARS.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instructor: instrument helicopter; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 36,000 hours in all; 1,000 in this make and model; 100 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 35,000 as pilot in command; 12,000 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 28, 1988; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-520 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°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.