Cessna 188B accident near Sumner, Iowa, August 11, 1988
On August 11, 1988 at about 2:30 pm local time, a Cessna 188B, registered N4999R, was substantially damaged in an accident near Sumner, Iowa (Sumner airport). 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
- August 11, 1988 · about 2:30 pm local time
- Place
- Sumner, Iowa · Sumner · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 188B · all 188Bs on the register
- Registration
- N4999R · no longer on the register · serial 18802486T
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING TAKEOFF FOR AN AERIAL APPLICATION OPERATION, THE PILOT SAID HE WAS NOT ABLE TO CLIMB HIGH ENOUGH TO CLEAR A 4 FOOT HIGH ROAD AT THE END OF THE RUNWAY. HE COLLIDED WITH THE ROAD, SHEARING OFF THE MAIN LDG GEAR AND SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGING THE ACFT. HE SAID HE THOUGHT THE FIELD WAS ABOUT 400 FEET LONGER THAN IT WAS, 2300 INSTEAD OF 1900. HE HAD ABOUT A 170 GALLON LOAD OF INSECTICIDE ON BOARD, AND THE DENSITY ALTITUDE WAS NEAR 2500 MSL.
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: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,236 hours in all; 1,348 in this make and model; 100 in the last 90 days; 32 in the last 30 days; 5,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,240 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 4, 1987; 100 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,200 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-D (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Cedar Valley Farm Services
The flight
- Departed from: Sumner IA at 2:25 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18, 1,900 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:52 pm from ALO, 25 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.