(This story updated at 11:30, see info below)
Yet another crop dusting plane has crashed in Iowa. A crash that took place near the Audubon airport Tuesday evening marks the 5th time a crop spraying aircraft has gone down in the state this month.
Only one of the crashes resulted in a fatality. According to Audubon County Sheriff Todd Johnson, Tuesday’s accident took place just after 6:30 P.M. The aircraft had just begun to take-off from the Audubon airport when it clipped a tree at the end of the runway and crashed into a cornfield.
The unidentified pilot walked away from the crash uninjured. The plane was carrying only five gallons of ag chemicals and 100-gallons of fuel. The D.N.R. was called in to investigate, along with the F.A.A. Earlier that same day, a crop duster lost power and crashed south of Whittemore, in Kossuth County.
Last Saturday, a crop duster flying from Illinois to North Dakota crashed in Adams County, killing the pilot, who was from California. The other crop dusters crashed August 10th near the Harlan airport in Shelby County, and August 4th near Waterloo.
Update:
Audubon County Sheriff Todd Johnson says the pilot of a crop duster that crashed Tuesday evening near the Audubon Airport has been identified as 49-year old Tony Miles, of Jonesboro, Arkansas. Miles was working for Bets Flying Service.