Has anyone here actually landed in a cornfield like this?

-Trent

Here's what can happen when you get too close to the corn. Two things to
note about this report
1) the NOSE of the aircraft impacted the ground (although this is a tail
dragger, corn can "pull" you down and potentially flip you on your head once
you get into it)
2)aircraft sustained substantial damage yet the pilot was not injured. A
full military shoulder harness could very well be the reason the pilot was
not injured.

CHI03LA272
On August 19, 2003, at 1700 central daylight time, a Piper PA-25, N4346Y,
operated by Reabe Flying Service, sustained substantial damaged on impact
with a corn crop and terrain near Brandon, Wisconsin, during a spray pass
over the field. The commercial pilot was not injured. The 14 CFR Part 137
aerial application flight departed from Waupun Airport (WI07), Waupun,
Wisconsin, on a local flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. No
flight plan was filed.

The pilot reported that approximately 70 gallons of chemical remained as he
was making the aerial swath before the accident. He reported the winds were
from the south at 9 knots gusting to 14 knots, and the temperature was 88
degrees Fahrenheit. He reported the airplane was descending over a treeline
heading southbound when it experienced moderate turbulence. He reported that
he was "unable to stop the descent before the airplane made contact with the
corn." The airplane continued it's descent and the nose of the airplane
impacted the ground and the airplane skidded to a stop. The pilot reported
there was no mechanical malfunction of the airplane prior to the accident.




Pilot walks away from plane crash


By Lee Reinsch
the reporter staff

The pilot of a Waupun crop duster that crashed late Tuesday afternoon walked
away uninjured, according to Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Department
officials.

Reabe Spraying Service, Inc. of Waupun, owns the plane.

Damon Reabe, 29, of Madison was applying pesticides to a field of sweet corn
when the plane crashed south of Gauger Road in the Township of Springvale
around 4:50 p.m., says Sgt. Jeff Bonack.

Investors Tom Huettl and Bill Steenberg of Fond du Lac own the land, but
farmer Kurt Krohn of Brandon farms it.

Krohn said the accident damaged "only a small percentage" of his sweet corn
crop.

"I'm not worried," he said, adding that Reabe is a "very fair" company to
work with.

Bonack said he believes pilot error caused the crash but the sherriff's
department and the Federal Aircraft Administration department are still
investigating the crash.

Reabe was alone in the plane.

The police, fire and first responders of Brandon, along with the Wisconsin
State Patrol and Brooks Ambulance, responded to the scene in addition to the
sheriff's department.


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