Cessna 188B accident near Bay City, Michigan, June 14, 1986
On June 14, 1986 at about 10:45 am local time, a Cessna 188B, registered N53140, was destroyed in an accident near Bay City, Michigan. 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
- June 14, 1986 · about 10:45 am local time
- Place
- Bay City, Michigan · 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
- N53140 · no longer on the register · serial 18801643
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING AN AG SPRAY OPERATION, THE PLT FLEW OVER THE AREA BEFORE STARTING HIS SWATH RUNS. ON HIS FIRST RUN, HE FLEW OVER WIRES AT THE END OF THE FIELD. ON THE RETURN SWATH RUN, HE ATTEMPTED TO FLY UNDER THE WIRES. WHILE DOING SO, THE ACFT STRUCK A NEWLY INSTALLED LOWER WIRE WITH THE VERTICAL STABILIZER, THEN CRASHED.
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: 2,047 hours in all; 1,521 in this make and model; 21 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days; 1,950 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,508 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 28, 1985; 22 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,700 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: AGAN Munger MI at 10:20 am
- Destination: Bay City MI
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
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.