Cessna 172N accident near Houston, Mississippi, October 28, 1988
On October 28, 1988 at about 3:10 am local time, a Cessna 172N, registered N21ER, was substantially damaged in an accident near Houston, Mississippi. It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were 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
- October 28, 1988 · about 3:10 am local time
- Place
- Houston, Mississippi · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N · all 172Ns on the register
- Registration
- N21ER · registry record · serial 17271290
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING NORMAL CRUISE FLT A PORTION OF ONE PROPELLER BLADE SEPARATED. THE PLT LANDED THE ACFT IN A FIELD & DURING THE LANDING ROLL, THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH A HAYSTACK. EXAMINATION OF THE PROPELLER BLADE REVEALED IT SEPARATED AT BLADE STATION 28.5. METALLURGICAL EXAMINATION REVEALED IT FAILED DUE TO FATIGUE FROM A NICK IN THE LEADING EDGE OF THE BLADE.
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; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 4,200 hours in all; 400 in this make and model; 30 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 4,000 as pilot in command; 200 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,800 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 7, 1988; 91 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,150 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-H2AD (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: STF Starkville MS at 3:00 am
- Destination: OLV Olive Branch MS
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 200° at 2 knots
- Visibility: 9 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 57°F (14°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:55 am from CBM, 30 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.