Cessna 207 accident near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, February 10, 1986
On February 10, 1986 at about 3:20 pm local time, a Cessna 207, registered N18SA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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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 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 10, 1986 · about 3:20 pm local time
- Place
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 207 · all 207s on the register
- Registration
- N18SA · registry record · serial 20700272
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AFTER PREHEATING THE ENG THE PLT TOOK OFF AND DURING CLIMB THE CABIN FILLED WITH SMOKE AND THE ENG STOPPED. A FORCED LANDING WAS MADE ON A CITY STREET DURING WHICH THE LEFT WING CONTACTED A SIGN POLE. POST ACCIDENT TEARDOWN OF THE ENG DISCLOSED THAT AN OIL TEMP CONTROL VALVE REQUIRED TO RETAIN THE ENG OIL IN THE CRANKCASE UNTIL PROPER OPERATING TEMP IS ATTAINED WAS NOT INSTALLED. WITHOUT THIS TEMP VALVE, OIL IS PERMITTED TO FLOW THROUGH THE OIL COOLER. THE PLT ALSO FAILED TO VISUALLY CHECK THE VISCOSITY OF THE OIL AFTER PREHEATING THE ENG.
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
- Flight time: 3,000 hours in all; 2,360 in this make and model; 180 in the last 90 days; 2,740 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,350 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 27, 1985
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MKE Milwaukee WI at 3:15 pm
- Destination: CWA Mosinee WI
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 290° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 7°F (-14°C), dew point 3°F (-16°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:26 pm from MKE, 3 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CHI86LA084.