July 23, 2025

Pilot is killed after crop duster crashes

A crop-dusting plane lies upside down in the edge of a cornfield along Illinois Route 64 near the Ogle County Airport between Oregon and Mt. Morris in northern Illinois on July 22. The pilot of the plane was killed after hitting power lines near the airport. This photo was taken after the pilot was removed from the wreckage.

OREGON, Ill. — The pilot of a crop-dusting plane lost his life July 22 when his plane crashed near the Ogle County Airport, between Oregon and Mt. Morris.

The pilot of the plane, whose name is yet to be released, died in the 9:36 a.m. accident, Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle said.

“When we arrived on scene, there was a crop duster that was fully engulfed on the north side of Illinois Route 64,” VanVickle said.

After hitting the power lines, the small plane came to rest on the north side of the state highway in a corner of a cornfield located near the driveway of Aframe Family Greenhouse west of Oregon.

Mt. Morris Fire Chief Rob G. Hough IV said his department responded to the scene at 9:41 a.m., within four minutes of the call.

“We found the plane upside down and on fire,” Hough said. “We extinguished the fire and were able to find out what chemicals the plane was carrying.”

VanVickle said seven power poles were impacted because of the crash, causing electrical outages for some people in that area. Comcast’s Xfinity transmission lines were also impacted resulting in outages for some customers.

Hough said radios went down briefly due to the power outage caused by the crash.

Authorities blocked off a section of Illinois Route 64 between Mt. Morris and Oregon.

The small airport is located on the south side of the state highway and has one grass runway that runs west to east, parallel with the state highway.

Hough said the accident could have been worse if the plane had hit a vehicle traveling on the busy highway.

The greenhouse, located about 25 yards from the plane’s wreckage, was open at the time of the crash.

Hough said a customer at the greenhouse heard a crash and saw wreckage when they looked out.

ComEd crews arrived that afternoon and were busy redirecting transmission lines and preparing to replace broken poles with new ones.

VanVickle said the sheriff’s office is awaiting the arrival of the National Transportation Safety Board to investigate the accident.

He said their arrival could be delayed due to other incidents in the region and the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh Fly-In held in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. That event attracts hundreds of thousands of aviation enthusiasts and pilots to the region.

Earleen Hinton

Earleen Hinton

Earleen creates content and oversees production of 8 community weeklies. She has worked for Shaw Newspapers since 1985.