Cessna A188B accident near Hesper, Iowa, July 18, 1984
On July 18, 1984 at about 11:22 pm local time, a Cessna A188B, registered N84494, was destroyed in an accident near Hesper, Iowa. 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
- July 18, 1984 · about 11:22 pm local time
- Place
- Hesper, Iowa · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna A188B · all A188Bs on the register
- Registration
- N84494 · no longer on the register · serial 18801987T
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT CRASHED AFTER COLLIDING WITH A POWER LINE. DURING THE FIRST SPRAY PASS THE PLT ATTEMPTED TO FLY UNDER THE POWER LINE. THE VERITCAL FIN HIT THE WIRE AND THE ACFT CRASHED. THERE WERE NO MECHANICAL PROBLEMS WITH THE ACFT DURING THIS AERIAL APPLICATION FLT.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,255 hours in all; 2,200 in this make and model; 123 in the last 90 days; 80 in the last 30 days; 3,200 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,583 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 30, 1984; 67 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,300 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-D-23 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CJJ Cresco IA at 11:10 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:51 pm from LSE, 34 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.