Cessna A188B accident near Batesville, Texas, August 4, 1984
On August 4, 1984 at about 2:30 pm local time, a Cessna A188B, registered N731LQ, was destroyed in an accident near Batesville, Texas. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 1 person was killed. 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 4, 1984 · about 2:30 pm local time
- Place
- Batesville, Texas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna A188B · all A188Bs on the register
- Registration
- N731LQ · no longer on the register · serial 18802981T
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THERE WERE NO KNOWN ACFT OR ENG PROBLEMS INVOLVED IN THE ACCIDENT. A WITNESS STATED THE ACFT STARTED ITS PULLUP FROM THE FIRST SWATH RUN OF THE DAY ON AN AGRICULTURAL OPERATION, COLLIDED WITH AN ELECTRICAL TRANSMISSION LINE & FELL TO THE GROUND, FATALLY INJURING THE PILOT.
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: 10,000 hours in all; 3,000 in this make and model; 248 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,261 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 13, 1984
- Maximum gross weight: 3,300 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Batesville TX at 2:15 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 135° at 2 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 84°F (29°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.