Cessna 152 accident near St Charles, Missouri, August 12, 1988
On August 12, 1988 at about 8:15 pm local time, a Cessna 152, registered N96344, was substantially damaged in an accident near St Charles, Missouri. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
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 12, 1988 · about 8:15 pm local time
- Place
- St Charles, Missouri · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Cessna 152 · all 152s on the register
- Registration
- N96344 · no longer on the register · serial 8644
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT RPRTD THAT DURING THE FLT, HE ENCTRD THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY, AS WELL AS A DOWNDRAFT, WHICH RESULTED IN A LOSS OF ABOUT 400 FT OF ALT. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT WAS LANDED IN A CORN FIELD & WAS DAMAGED. ABOUT 13 MI SE AT ST LOUIS, THE VISIBILITY WAS RPRTD TO BE 1.5 MI WITH HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS, HAIL & WIND GUSTS TO 30 KTS.
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: 246 hours in all; 114 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,600 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 27, 1988
- Maximum gross weight: 1,670 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-L2C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: JEF Jefferson City MO
- Destination: 3SQ St Charles MO
- Flight plan: not recorded
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 230° at 8 knots, gusting 30
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 4,800 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:15 pm from STL, 13 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.