Cessna 188B accident near Malta, Montana, June 4, 1987
On June 4, 1987 at about 10:45 am local time, a Cessna 188B, registered N417J, was destroyed in an accident near Malta, Montana (Malta 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 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 4, 1987 · about 10:45 am local time
- Place
- Malta, Montana · Malta · 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
- N417J · registry record · serial 18803800T
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AFTER TAKEOFF ON INITIAL CLIMB THE ACFT HAD A PWR LOSS WHICH RESULTED IN A FORCED LANDING. A HARD LANDING OCCURRED IN AN OPEN FIELD WHICH SHEARED OFF THE MAIN LANDING GEAR AND DAMAGED THE AIRFRAME. THE CAUSE OF THE PWR LOSS COULD NOT BE DETERMINED.
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; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 20,000 hours in all; 6,000 in this make and model; 100 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 19,500 as pilot in command; 3,000 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 800 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, April 30, 1987; 51 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,200 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO52 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 12, 2,400 ft by 200 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 50°F (10°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.