Cessna 182A accident near Bluff City, Kansas, November 17, 1986
On November 17, 1986 at about 6:15 pm local time, a Cessna 182A, registered N2038G, was destroyed in an accident near Bluff City, Kansas. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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
- November 17, 1986 · about 6:15 pm local time
- Place
- Bluff City, Kansas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182A · all 182As on the register
- Registration
- N2038G · no longer on the register · serial 51338
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT STATED THAT HE WAS CRUISING AT 2,500 FT MSL EN ROUTE SOUTHBOUND TO ENID, OKLAHOMA, WHEN HE ENCOUNTERED FOG BUT FLEW FOR 15 TO 20 MINUTES BEFORE EXECUTING A 180DEG NORTHERLY TURN BACK TO HUTCHINSON, KS. ACCORDING TO THE PLT, HE WAS IN THE CLOUDS TRYING TO FLY OUT OF IFR CONDITIONS WHEN THE ACFT FLEW INTO THE GROUND AND HE LOST CONCIOUSNESS. NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RECORDS SHOW FORECASTS, VALID FOR APRX THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT, CALLING FOR IMC AND MARGINAL VMC THROUGHOUT OKLAHOMA AND SOUTHERN KANSAS. THE PLT FURTHER STATED THAT HE RECEIVED NO WEATHER BRIEFING AND FILED NO FLIGHT PLAN. POST ACCIDENT CALCULATIONS REVEAL THAT THE ACFT IMPACTED THE TERRAIN IN A SHALLOW DESCENT NEAR CRUISE POWER. IT PORPOISED AND WHEELBARROWED BEFORE DIGGING IN THE SOFT DIRT. THE NOSE GEAR SHEARED OFF AND THE ACFT FLIPPED INVERTED, SHEDDING IT'S RIGHT CABIN DOOR AND EJECTING THE PLT RATED PASSENGER.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 1,250 hours in all; 900 in this make and model; 12 in the last 90 days; 1,200 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,741 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 12, 1985; 52 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,650 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470-L (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HUT Hutchinson KS at 5:00 pm
- Destination: WDG Enid OK
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 140° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 300 ft; not recorded at 300 ft
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:28 pm from END, 41 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 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.