Cessna 188C accident near Dalton, Nebraska, June 5, 1987
On June 5, 1987 at about 12:30 pm local time, a Cessna 188C, registered N4219J, was destroyed in an accident near Dalton, Nebraska. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). No one was hurt; 1 person was 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
- June 5, 1987 · about 12:30 pm local time
- Place
- Dalton, Nebraska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 188C · all 188Cs on the register
- Registration
- N4219J · no longer on the register · serial T18803725T
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PIC ATTEMPTED TO DEPART A RURAL FARM LDG STRIP DURING AN AERIAL APPLICATION OPERATION. THE ACFT LEFT SPRAY BOOM STRUCK TALL STANDING WHEAT PRIOR TO LIFT OFF SPEED CAUSING LOSS OF CONTROL AND SUBSEQUENT GROUND LOOP AND NOSE OVER.
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; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,829 hours in all; 4,600 in this make and model; 290 in the last 90 days; 5,394 as pilot in command; 535 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,440 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 14, 1987; 7 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,400 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-T (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0, 3,700 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Wind: from 200° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; scat at 15,000 ft
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 12:30 pm from SNY, 20 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.