What happened
The accident occurred while a student pilot was conducting practice touch-and-go landings on a private grass airstrip. During the takeoff phase of one such landing, the aircraft began to drift toward the left side of the runway. The plane moved off the paved surface and headed directly toward a corn crop and an adjacent ditch.
Recognizing the deviation from the intended flight path, the pilot attempted to correct the situation by pulling back on the controls in an effort to gain altitude and clear the vegetation. However, the aircraft did not have sufficient airspeed to sustain level flight or climb effectively. As a result, the airplane settled into the corn crop rather than clearing it.
The investigation
Examination of the accident site revealed that the aircraft had impacted the cornfield after leaving the airstrip. The lack of adequate airspeed during the critical takeoff phase prevented the pilot from successfully aborting the ground contact or gaining enough height to avoid the obstacle.