Cessna 188T accident near Town Creek, Alabama, August 10, 1995
On August 10, 1995 at about 2:30 pm local time, a Cessna 188T, registered N731DB, was destroyed in an accident near Town Creek, Alabama (Private airport). 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 chafing of the fuel flow gage pressure line with an electrical system wire which resulted in arcing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 10, 1995 · about 2:30 pm local time
- Place
- Town Creek, Alabama · Private · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 188T · all 188Ts on the register
- Registration
- N731DB · registry record · serial 188-02805T
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While en route to spray a field 3 miles from the staging airstrip, the pilot heard an unusual noise in the cockpit. Seconds later, smoke and fire from under the instrument panel started filling the cockpit. The pilot made an emergency landing at the staging airstrip, and exited the burning airplane. The cockpit and center section of the airframe were fire damaged. Examination of the instrument panel disclosed that a fuel line for the fuel flow meter was burnt out of the instrument. Several fire damaged electrical wires were located in the immediate vicinity of the fuel line.
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: single-engine land
- Flight time: 5,500 hours in all; 2,500 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,234 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 1, 1995; 96 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,300 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: NONE at 2:28 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 9, 2,000 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 15,000 ft; scat at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 pm from MSL, 17 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.