Cessna 188B accident near Poston, Arizona, August 29, 1987
On August 29, 1987 at about 3:00 am local time, a Cessna 188B, registered N8275G, was substantially damaged in an accident near Poston, Arizona (Camp Poston airport). 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 29, 1987 · about 3:00 am local time
- Place
- Poston, Arizona · Camp Poston · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 188B · all 188Bs on the register
- Registration
- N8275G · no longer on the register · serial 18801280T
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
JUST AFTER LIFTOFF ONE PROPELLER BLADE SEPARATED FROM THE HUB NEAR THE OUTBOARD END OF THE ASSOCIATED FERRULE FITTING WHICH INDUCED A FAILURE OF THE CRANCKSHAFT. THE PILOT MADE A FORCED LANDING, OVERRAN THE RUNWAY END AND NOSED OVER. METALLURGICAL ANALYSIS INDICATED THAT THE FAILURE WAS DUE TO A FATIGUE FRACTURE WITH MULTIPLE ORIGIN POINTS CAUSED BY A SCRATCH. THE ANALYSIS ALSO SUGGESTED THAT ALL BUT THE FIRST THREE FERRULE THREADS HAD BEEN REWORKED IN A POST MANUFACTURE HAND GRINDING PROCESS IN ACCORDANCE WITH A MCCAULEY SERVICE BULLETIN SPECIFYING A HAND GRINDING REWORK TO REMOVE SHARP THREADS IN THE FERRULE, WHICH HAD BEEN SHOWN TO PRODUCE PRIOR FATIGUE FRACTURES. IN THE AREA OF THE FATIGUEFRACTURE, THE FIRST THREE THREADS OF THE FERRULE WERE FOUND WITH SHARP EDGES. MAINTENANCE RECORDS DID NOT SHOW THE TOTALTIME ON THIS PROPELLER SINCE MAJOR OVERHAUL.
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
- Flight time: 19,500 hours in all; 200 in the last 90 days; 35 in the last 30 days; 19,300 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,341 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 27, 1987; 6 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,200 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: S 4
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18, 1,800 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.