Cessna 182 accident near Dewitt, Arkansas, June 5, 1988
On June 5, 1988 at about 8:00 pm local time, a Cessna 182, registered N97536, was substantially damaged in an accident near Dewitt, Arkansas (Dewitt, Pvt airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 people were 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, 1988 · about 8:00 pm local time
- Place
- Dewitt, Arkansas · Dewitt, Pvt · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182 · all 182s on the register
- Registration
- N97536 · no longer on the register · serial 18267125
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT WAS ATTEMPTING TO LAND ON HIS PERSONAL GRASS STRIP, WHICH HAD TREES AT BOTH ENDS. THE ACFT HIT HARD, BOUNCED, THEN SLID TO A STOP. THE NOSE GEAR WAS SEPARATED.
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: 416 hours in all; 375 in this make and model; 46 in the last 90 days; 25 in the last 30 days; 378 as pilot in command; 38 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 777 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 1, 1987; 77 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,950 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470-U (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 6M1 Herber Springs AR at 7:20 pm
- Destination: Dewitt AR
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18, 2,400 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 110° at 8 knots, gusting 14
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:48 pm from LIT, 60 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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.