Event CEN18LA350

Factual narrative

On August 22, 2018, about 1600 central daylight time, a Cessna A188 airplane, N78417, impacted terrain after departing the Amelia Earhart Airport (K59), Atchison, Kansas. The pilot was not injured, and the airplane was substantially damaged during the accident. The airplane was registered to a private individual and operated by McElwain Sprayers, LLC under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 as an agricultural flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time. The pilot reported he topped off with fuel in the morning and had flown two previous loads. On the third takeoff, as the airplane was 70 to 75 mph, the airplane "would not come off the ground." He said that the mixture was full rich, and the propeller and throttle controls were full forward. He felt he could not stop on the remaining runway, so he dumped the load, in order to reduce the airplane's weight, in an attempt to get airborne. However, the airplane did not get airborne, and the airplane impacted terrain just beyond the runway. After the airplane came to rest, the pilot said he pulled the mixture control back, turned the magnetos and battery off, and exited the airplane. The airplane's owner saw the attempted takeoff. He reported that the engine puffed black smoke during the takeoff run. He added that the fuel servo provided a mixture that was too rich, so on the ground the pilots would reduce the mixture, and then use a full rich mixture for takeoff. After the accident, he said the mixture control was back two inches, which was too far. The responding Federal Aviator Inspector noted substantial damage to the fuselage and wings. A visual inspection of the engine did not find any abnormalities. The commercial pilot was conducting agricultural application operations. He reported that, after topping off the airplane with fuel and flying two loads, on the third takeoff, the airplane "would not come off the ground." He checked the engine controls, then dumped the load in an unsuccessful attempt to become airborne before the end of the runway. The airplane continued off the runway and impacted terrain, which resulted in substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. The airplane owner witnessed the attempted takeoff and reported that the engine puffed black smoke during the takeoff run. He added that the fuel servo provided a mixture that was too rich, so the pilots would reduce the mixture on the ground and then use a full rich mixture for takeoff. A visual examination of the engine did not reveal any evidence of anomalies. Although the appearance of black smoke from the engine is consistent with an overly rich fuel mixture, based on the information provided by the pilot and no anomalies found during the engine examination, the reason for the partial loss of engine power could not be determined. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• C Not determined-Not determined-(general)-(general)-Unknown/Not determined - C