NTSB DEN90LA125 — 1990-06-04 · MARTIN, South Dakota, United States

Aircraft involved

N78516 Cessna 188A None

Probable cause & findings

THE ON-GROUND LOSS OF CONTROL DURING THE TAKEOFF GROUND RUN. CONTRIBUTING TO THIS ACCIDENT WAS THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO USE OPTIMUM TAKEOFF FLAPS FOR THE RUNWAY CONDITIONS THAT EXISTED, AND THE SOFT WET RUNWAY SURFACE.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT WAS ATTEMPTING TO TAKE OFF FROM A WET, MUDDY, 2600-FT LONG SOD RUNWAY (ELEVATION 3300FEET MSL) WITH FULL FUEL AND 70 GALLONS OF 2-4-D. THE AIRPLANE WAS COMPUTED TO BE BELOW ITS MAXIMUM CERTIFICATED GROSS WEIGHT. THE PILOT SELECTED 5 DEGREES FLAPS. OPTIMUM TAKEOFF PERFORMANCE IS ACHIEVED USING 20 DEGREES FLAPS. TEMPERATURE WAS APPROXIMATELY 88 DEGREES AND THE WIND WAS REPORTED TO BE FROM THE WEST-NORTHWEST AT 2-3 MPH. PERFORMANCE FIGURES INIDICATE THE AIRPLANE SHOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO TAKEOFF. THE PILOT TOLD AN FAA INSPECTOR THE AIRPLANE LIFTED OFF MOMENTARILY THEN SETTLED BACK TO THE RUNWAY. THE PILOT'S ACCIDENT REPORT SAID THE AIRPLANE DID NOT BECOME AIRBORNE AND THIS DISCREPANCY COULD NOT BE RESOLVED. THE PILOT SAID THE AIRPLANE WENT OFF THE LEFT SIDE OF THE RUNWAY, WENT THROUGH A SMALL POND, STRUCK THE SHOULDER OF A ROAD, SLID ACROSS THE ROAD, AND CAME TO REST ON ITS NOSE IN A LARGE POND. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1990_DEN90LA125.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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