What happened
On September 5, 2025, at approximately 16:45 CDT, a Piper PA-24-180, registration N5759P, was involved in an accident near Ashland City, Tennessee. The flight originated from St. Charles County Regional Airport/Smartt Field (SET) in St. Charles, Missouri, with a planned destination of John C. Thune Airport (JWN) in Nashville, Tennessee.
While the pilot was preparing the aircraft for arrival at JWN, he attempted to move the mixture control knob to the full rich position. At that moment, the engine began running rough and experienced a loss of power. The pilot contacted air traffic control and performed troubleshooting steps using the Emergency Checklist, which included activating the fuel boost pump, switching fuel tanks, and verifying the ignition, mixture, carb heat, and primer status. Despite these actions, the engine remained unresponsive to throttle inputs, with the pilot observing approximately 1000 RPM and 3 GPH on the fuel totalizer.
Unable to maintain altitude, the pilot performed a forced landing into a cornfield. The impact resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot sustained one minor injury, and there were no fatalities.