Cessna A188B accident near Willcox, Arizona, August 15, 1985
On August 15, 1985 at about 2:00 pm local time, a Cessna A188B, registered N4974Q, was substantially damaged in an accident near Willcox, Arizona. 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
- August 15, 1985 · about 2:00 pm local time
- Place
- Willcox, Arizona · 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
- N4974Q · no longer on the register · serial 188027081
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ON AUGUST 15, 1985, A CESSNA 180 LOST ENG PWR DUE TO FUEL EXHAUSTION AND COLLIDED WITH THE GROUND DURING AN AERIAL APPLICAION MANEUVER. THE ACFT SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE BUT THE PILOT WAS NOT INJURED. THE PLT STATED THAT HE SHOULD HAVE CHECKED THE FUEL MORE CLOSELY.
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; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,000 hours in all; 2,500 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 75 in the last 30 days; 4,800 as pilot in command; 2,000 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,448 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 3,300 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO 520D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: P33 Willcox AZ at 1:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 140° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:53 pm from TUS, 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.