Cessna A188B accident near Calipatria, California, July 19, 1983
On July 19, 1983 at about 5:10 am local time, a Cessna A188B, registered N4463Q, was substantially damaged in an accident near Calipatria, California. 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
- July 19, 1983 · about 5:10 am local time
- Place
- Calipatria, California · 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
- N4463Q · no longer on the register · serial 18800863
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT MADE A HARD LANDING IN A COTTON FIELD DURING A CROP DUSTING OPERATION AFTER BUFFETING WAS FELT IN A TURN. THE PILOT THOUGHT HE WAS STALLING IN VORTEX TURBULENCE FROM ANOTHER ACFT IN FRONT OF HIM. A TOXIC LOAD OF SUPRECIDE WAS DUMPED BEFORE THE PILOT LANDED IN THE COTTON FIELD. THE PILOT ALSO SAID THAT EVEN THOUGH SOME POWER WAS AVAILABLE THE POWER DID NOT INCREASE WHEN HE ADDED MORE THROTTLE. HE STATED THAT HE MADE A PRECAUTIONARY LANDING IN THE LEVEL FIELD. AN EXAMINATION OF THE ENGINE REVEALED VALVE TRAIN CONTINUITY, THE MAGNETOS SPARKED, AND DIFFERENTIAL COMPRESSION WAS GOOD THERE NO FUEL CONTAMINATION. NO CONDITIONS WERE FOUND THAT WOULD PREVENT NORMAL OPERATION OF THE ENGINE.
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; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 5,036 hours in all; 1,309 in this make and model; 185 in the last 90 days; 4,857 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,461 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 8, 1983; 78 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,000 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-D9 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CLR Calipatria CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 225° at 2 knots
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 95°F (35°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 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.