After a successful glider release, the pilot of the tow airplane was attempting to return to the turf runway at the departure airport in Millington, Maryland.
He had difficulty locating the runway among the nearby corn fields and mistakenly aligned the airplane to land on a long swath of corn.
During the landing attempt, and just as he realized the Cessna 182 was over corn and not the runway, the airplane “stalled” and hit the ground. The airplane’s fuselage and wings were substantially damaged.
The pilot reported that there were no pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s misidentification of a corn field for the destination airport’s runway, and a subsequent aerodynamic stall at low altitude while attempting to land.
To download the final report. Click here. This will trigger a PDF download to your device.
This August 2020 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
I cain’t blame the fellow from loving to fly. However, there comes a time when one must give up due to health or sight. No mention of glasses required for flight.? Sorry for him.
What, no runway lights in a cornfield?
There are quite a few runways with no lighting at all, let alone poorly maintained lighting.
I’m wondering how poor a person’s eyesight has to be if they are unable to distinguish a corn field from a landing strip. Assuming the field had been harvested (August 2020) you would still have the plowed corn rows and silage lying about. With that much “trash” on the runway, why would a pilot make a planned landing on it?
The accident report shows that the Private Pilot was 84 yrs. of age and held a Third Class – Time Limited Waiver medical certificate issued in August 2019. No mention was made of any medical condition that might have been a contributing factor.