Cessna T188C accident near Marshall, Missouri, June 27, 1983
On June 27, 1983 at about 11:45 pm local time, a Cessna T188C, registered N9639J, was destroyed in an accident near Marshall, Missouri. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 1 person had minor injuries. 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
- June 27, 1983 · about 11:45 pm local time
- Place
- Marshall, Missouri · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna T188C · all T188Cs on the register
- Registration
- N9639J · no longer on the register · serial T188030T
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ENG FAILED WHILE ENROUTE TO SPRAY. THE ACFT WAS OBSERVED TO JETTISON ITS LOAD PRIOR TO IMPACTING TREES IN A WOODED PASTURE. METALLURGICAL EXAMINATION REVEALED THAT THE CRANKSHAFT, P/N631716, HAD FRACTURED FROM FATIGUE PROGRESSION THROUGH THE FORWARD CHEEK OF THE #3 MAIN BEARING JOURNAL. INITIATION HAD OCCURRED 0.047 INCHES BELOW THE FORWARD RADIUS SURFACE. NO METALLURGICAL ABNORMALITIES WERE FOUND AT THE ORIGIN SITE.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 15,037 hours in all; 50 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 75 in the last 30 days; 14,909 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 115 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 11, 1982
- Maximum gross weight: 4,400 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-T (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 200° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 86°F (30°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:46 pm from MKC, 65 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.