Sunday, April 18, 2021

Cessna A188B AGwagon, N731TB: Accident occurred April 15, 2021 in Dover, Craven County, North Carolina

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.

The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident.

Additional Participating Entity:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Greensboro, North Carolina

Eastern Flying Service Inc
Location: Dover, NC 
Accident Number: ERA21LA188
Date & Time: April 15, 2021, 16:05 Local 
Registration: N731TB
Aircraft: Cessna A188
Injuries: 1 None
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Personal

On April 15, 2021, at 1605 eastern daylight time, a Cessna A188B, N731TB, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Dover, North Carolina. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

According to the pilot, he fueled the airplane prior to the flight at a private airport. The purpose of the accident flight was for the pilot to familiarize himself with the airplane and to practice maneuvers in advance of the spraying season. The agricultural airplane’s hopper was empty, there was no intent to spray chemicals. A few minutes after takeoff, at an altitude of about 300 ft, he heard a “loud pop”, and the engine lost all power. He looked at the engine gauges and noticed that there was “no fuel flow”. As the propeller windmilled, he unsuccessfully attempted to restart the engine, then elected to perform a forced landing to a nearby corn field. He described that the landing was “hard”.

Examination of the airplane at the accident site by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed leading edge damage and compression buckling of the top of the left wing, outboard of the wing strut and extended aft of the wing spar. The left side of the empennage was buckled just forward of the vertical stabilizer. The right horizontal stabilizer was bent upward slightly, about 12 inches from its root. The upper surface of the right elevator was buckled forward of trim tab. When the inspector attempted to rotate the propeller by hand, she heard a “clink” sound, and the propeller would not rotate.

A review of the airplane’s maintenance records revealed that the most recent annual inspection was performed 9 days (11 flight hours) prior to the accident. The previous annual inspection was performed in September 2019 (73 flight hours prior to the accident).

The airplane was retained for further examination.

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: Cessna
Registration: N731TB
Model/Series: A188 B 
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Amateur Built: No
Operator: 
Operating Certificate(s) Held: Agricultural aircraft (137)
Operator Designator Code:

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site: VMC 
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: ISO,95 ft msl 
Observation Time: 15:56 Local
Distance from Accident Site: 13.7 Nautical Miles
Temperature/Dew Point: 20°C /14°C
Lowest Cloud Condition: Scattered / 7000 ft AGL 
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: 6 knots / , 310°
Lowest Ceiling: Overcast / 9000 ft AGL
Visibility: 10 miles
Altimeter Setting: 29.72 inches Hg 
Type of Flight Plan Filed: None
Departure Point: Dover, NC (PVT) 
Destination: Dover, NC

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 1 None 
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: 
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: N/A 
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 1 None
Latitude, Longitude: 35.323786,-77.366447 (est)










NEW BERN, N.C. (WNCT) — Officials said nobody was hurt when a small plane made an emergency landing into a field in Craven County on Thursday.

Craven County Emergency Management told WNCT the plane went down in the area of 10600 Hwy. 55 near Dover. Fire officials from Fort Barnwell Volunteer Fire Department along with members of Craven County Emergency Services and other officials responded to the call around 4:14 p.m.

Photos taken by WNCT’s Samantha Schweihs showed the plane resting in the field upright. It had damage to the frame and underside. 

WNCT’s Caroline Bowyer spoke with emergency officials who said the plane had a complete engine failure and lost power mid-flight.

Only the pilot was in the plane at the time of the crash. He declined treatment from EMS.

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