Cessna A188B accident near Preu, Indiana, August 7, 1988
On August 7, 1988, a Cessna A188B, registered N5550G, was substantially damaged in an accident near Preu, Indiana. 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 7, 1988
- Place
- Preu, Indiana · 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
- N5550G · no longer on the register · serial 1881112
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AERIAL APPLICATOR EXPERIENCED TOTAL FAILURE OF THROTTLE CABLE DURING APPLICATION SWATH RUN. AIRCRAFT RECEIVED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE WHEN PILOT EXECUTED FORCED LANDING IN ADJACENT CROP FIELD. AIRCRAFT AND ENGINE HAD RECEIVED ANNUAL INSPECTION 125 HOURS PRIOR TO FAILURE. POST ACC INVEST REVEALED THAT THE THROTTLE CABLE BROKE, ALLOWING THE ENGINE TO GO TO IDLE RPM. ACCORDING TO THE PLT, THE ENG ORIGINALLY HAD A SPRING, SLEEVE, AND BRACKET ASSY TO PROVIDE POWER IN CASE OF A CABLE FAILURE. THESE ITEMS WERE SUBSEQUENTLY REMOVED FROM THE ENG BY PERSONS UNKNOWN.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine
- Flight time: 8,075 hours in all; 3,550 in this make and model; 58 in the last 90 days; 54 in the last 30 days; 8,025 as pilot in command; 125 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (invalid medical for flight)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,134 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 8, 1988; 125 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,000 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: OKK Kokomo IN
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 84°F (29°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.