Cessna 150 accident near Reed Springs, Missouri, August 29, 1988
On August 29, 1988 at about 8:15 pm local time, a Cessna 150, registered N3475V, was substantially damaged in an accident near Reed Springs, Missouri. It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured and 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
- August 29, 1988 · about 8:15 pm local time
- Place
- Reed Springs, Missouri · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150 · all 150s on the register
- Registration
- N3475V · registry record · serial 15076513
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACCIDENT AIRCRAFT WAS OBSERVED PERFORMING HIGH SPEED PASSES AT EXTREMELY LOW ALTITUDE OVER THE LAKE. WITNESSES ESTIMATED THE ALTITUDE OF THE AIRCRAFT FROM 30 TO 75 FEET ABOVE THE WATER. THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK 72,000 VOLT POWER LINES AT A POINT APPROXIMATELY 52 FEET ABOVE THE LAKE. THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR STATED THAT HE WAS IN A CLIMBING TURN AT THE TIME OF IMPACT WITH THE POWER LINES. AFTER THE COLLISION WITH THE POWER LINES THE ACFT CRASHED IN THE LAKE AND SANK IN WATER APPX 46 FT DEEP. THE OCCUPANTS NEVER SAW THE POWER LINES. ONE WITNESS, A HIWAY PATROL PILOT SAID THE FLYING BY THE ACC ACFT WAS 'THE MOST CARELESS EXHIBITION HE HAD EVER SEEN'. HE RECORDED THE REGISTRATION NUMBER AS THE ACFT PASSED OVER HIS BOAT AND REPORTED IT TO THE POLICE.
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: 434 hours in all; 227 in this make and model; 145 in the last 90 days; 82 in the last 30 days; 399 as pilot in command; 143 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (invalid medical for flight)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,458 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 14, 1948; 80 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200-A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 2H2 Aurora MO at 7:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 060° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:52 pm from SGF, 38 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.