Cessna T188 N2085J

Summary

On 12 June 2020 at about 18:20 local time, a Cessna T188 registered N2085J, operated by AgraTech, Inc., was involved in an accident near McCurtain, Oklahoma, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

12 June 2020 at 18:20

Classification

Accident

Location

McCurtain, Oklahoma, United States

Coordinates

35.1450, -94.9161

Aircraft

Cessna T188

Registration

N2085J

Category

Airplane

Year built

1978

Engines

1

Operator

AgraTech, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Stigler → Stigler

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN20CA229

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain the proper airspeed during a low altitude aerial application maneuver and his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodymanic stall at too low of an altiutde to recover.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot was conducting an aerial application flight to a field that had a small hill on the north side. After the completion of the second pass, the pilot maneuvered the airplane out of the field to turn away from the hill and to get turned around for another pass. Upon starting the turn back towards the field, the pilot realized that he had not allowed adequate space to perform the turn given the airplane's "current load and environmental conditions." The pilot leveled the wings and attempted to fly over the hill; however, the airplane encountered an aerodynamic stall about 30 ft above ground level and subsequently impacted trees and rocky terrain. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, the left wing, and the empennage. The pilot reported there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.