No fatalities

Agricultural Aircraft Forced Landing After Spray Boom Contact with Corn Crop

Greenstown, IN, United States

On July 19, 2011, a CESSNA A188B operated by Agri-Green Aviation Inc was involved in an aviation accident near Greenstown, IN. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's failure to maintain adequate clearance from vegetation that caused increased drag during a low-level maneuvering flight. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 2026-08-03Data APIEditorial standards

During aerial application over a corn field, the airplane's spray booms contacted the crop, causing debris accumulation and increased drag. The pilot performed a forced landing after the aircraft could not maintain airspeed and altitude.

Incident Details

According to the pilot, while conducting aerial application over a corn field, the airplane's altitude became too low. The spray booms made contact with the corn crop, resulting in an accumulation of corn debris on the boom. This debris increased aerodynamic drag on the aircraft.

Forced Landing

The increase in drag prevented the airplane from maintaining sufficient airspeed and altitude. The pilot subsequently executed a forced landing into a field.

Damage

The accident caused substantial damage to both the fuselage and wings of the aircraft.

Relevant Factors

The pilot cited the low altitude during the aerial application as a contributing circumstance to the contact with the corn crop and subsequent drag increase.

Contributing factors

Pilot