Cessna A188B accident near Cushing, Oklahoma, August 15, 1985
On August 15, 1985 at about 10:00 pm local time, a Cessna A188B, registered N21814, was destroyed in an accident near Cushing, Oklahoma (Cushing Muni airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. 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 15, 1985 · about 10:00 pm local time
- Place
- Cushing, Oklahoma · Cushing Muni · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna A188B · all A188Bs on the register
- Registration
- N21814 · no longer on the register · serial 18801055
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT WAS TEST FLYING THE ACFT AFTER A MAJOR ENG OVERHAUL.A LEFT TURN WAS MADE AWAY FROM THE ARPT AFTER TAKEOFF AND IMMEDIATELY THEREAFTER THE ENG LOST PWR. WITH NO SUITABLE LANDING AREA WITHIN GLIDING DISTANCE, THE ACFT WAS MANUEVERED STRAIGHT AHEAD WHERE IT CONTACTED TREES. POST ACCIDENT INSPECTION OF THE ENG REVEALED THE CHROME PLATING WITHIN THE #5 CYLINDER WAS SEPARATING FROM THE CYLINDER WALL AND WAS IMBEDDED IN THE RING LANDS OF THE PISTON. REASON FOR THE CHROME SEPARATION IS 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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 15,471 hours in all; 250 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,950 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection; 60 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,300 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-D (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 020° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 68°F (20°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:48 pm from TUL, 48 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.
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.