Cessna A188A accident near Casa Grande, Arizona, October 23, 1988
On October 23, 1988 at about 10:15 pm local time, a Cessna A188A, registered N5640J, was destroyed in an accident near Casa Grande, Arizona. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 1 person was seriously injured. 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
- October 23, 1988 · about 10:15 pm local time
- Place
- Casa Grande, Arizona
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna A188A · all A188As on the register
- Registration
- N5640J · no longer on the register · serial A18800590
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING AERIAL APPLICATION FLIGHT, THE AIRCRAFT COLLIDED WITH A HIGH-TENSION STATIC WIRE AND SUBSEQUENTLY WITH THE GROUND. POST-IMPACT FIRE ENSUED. THE PILOT STATED HE MISJUDGED HIS APPROACH TO THE FIELD AND DID NOT SEE THE WIRE.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,500 hours in all; 450 in this make and model; 450 in the last 90 days; 150 in the last 30 days; 4,500 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,422 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 5, 1987; 733 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
- Departed from: 8 MI Casa Grande AZ at 11:45 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 95°F (35°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.