Beech V35B Bonanza, N111PF: Incident occurred October 30, 2015 near Galesburg, Persifer Township, Knox County, Illinois

Date: 30-OCT-15 
Time: 23:19:00Z
Regis#: N111PF
Aircraft Make: BEECH
Aircraft Model: 35
Event Type: Incident
Highest Injury: None
Damage: Minor
Flight Phase: UNKNOWN (UNK)
FAA FSDO: FAA Springfield FSDO-19
City: GALESBURG
State: Illinois

AIRCRAFT FORCE LANDED IN A FIELD, NEAR GALESBURG, IL

http://registry.faa.gov/N111PF 

GALESBURG — A Beech V35B Bonanza forced landed in a cornfield off 1750 Knox Road Friday night after the engine seized.

Sgt. Brian Brady of the Knox County Sheriff’s Department said a Beech V35B Bonanza carrying two Hannibal, Missouri men landed in the cornfield on the 1400 block of 1750 Knox Road North, and both men walked away uninjured.

“They really couldn’t have picked a better place or time to have a problem,” Brady said. “There was a lot of rain so it made the field softer.”

Brady said the engine seized while Curtis Burton and Quinten Bieneik, and after the emergency landing a small hole was found in the engine. Brady said he believed the men were heading back to Hannibal.

Aside from the engine, there was damage to the plane’s propeller but the cornfield had already been plowed and no other damage was reported.

Brady said the Knoxville Fire Department and Galesburg Hospitals Ambulance Service responded to the scene Friday night. Also, the Federal Aviation Administration investigated the incident Saturday.

The Knox County Sheriff’s Department responded to the scene of a downed plane yesterday evening near Knox roads 1750 North and 1350 East.

Sergeant Brian Brady says the aircraft pilot and passenger – the sole occupants on board – were unharmed.

Officers responded after 6:30 p.m. yesterday. 

Traffic to Knox Road 1750 North was blocked briefly.

Brady says the Beech V35B Bonanza appeared to experience catastrophic engine failure leading to the emergency landing in a harvested cornfield just east of the Maxey Chapel outside of Oak Run.

The plane was over the chapel when trouble began.

Unable to clear the 30 miles between Maxey Chapel and the Galesburg Municipal Airport, the pilot brought the plane to a safe landing in the nearest clearing.

The pilot and passenger, who did not wish to be identified, said they had come from Hannibal, Missouri and were returning there at the time of the crash.

No significant damage was observed to the aircraft.

- Source:  http://wgil.com