Cessna U206 accident near Brush, Colorado, October 17, 1988
On October 17, 1988 at about 8:21 pm local time, a Cessna U206, registered N184V, was destroyed in an accident near Brush, Colorado (Brush Municipal airport). It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were 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 12, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 17, 1988 · about 8:21 pm local time · cases in 1988
- Place
- Brush, Colorado · Brush Municipal · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna U206 · all U206s on the register
- Registration
- N184V · no longer on the register · serial U2061341
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
FOLLOWING LANDING AT AN UNATTENDED AIRPORT, WHILE BACK-TAXIING, THE ENG FAILED. DURING RESTART THE PLT HEARD A LOUD 'POP' FROM THE ENG COMPARTMENT FOLLOWED BY WHITE SMOKE AND FLAME. THE PLT AND PAX EXITED THE ACFT AND THE PLT WENT TO A NEARBY PHONE TO CALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. A HAND-HELD FIRE EXTINGUISHER WAS LOCATED IN THE BAGGAGE COMPARTMENT AND WAS NOT USED BY EITHER OCCUPANT. A REVIEW OF MAINT RECORDS INDICATED THAT A FACTORY OVERHAULED ENGINE HAD BEEN INSTALLED 60 FLT HRS PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT AND THAT THE ACFT HAD BEEN IN POOR MECHANICAL CONDITION WHEN THE ANNUAL WAS CONDUCTED FIVE MONTHS PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT. INSPECTION OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED THAT IGNITION FIRST OCCURRED NEAR THE BOTTOM OF THE FIREWALL BUT THE EXACT SOURCE OF THE FIRE WAS NOT 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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 447 hours in all; 104 in this make and model; 75 in the last 90 days; 35 in the last 30 days; 348 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,765 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 19, 1988; 60 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-C (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: 1V5 Boulder CO
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 7, 5,300 ft by 60 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 030° at 16 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 37°F (3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:50 pm from AKO, 22 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N184V: not on the register today · the record of its deregistration
- Cessna U206 Stationair 798 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,684 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Continental IO-520-C 4 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Brush Municipal · nearest airport
- Accidents and incidents in Colorado 2,857 since 1982 · 381 in the last ten years
- Colorado 7,455 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/DEN89LA018.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.