Pantagraph.com | News | Plane makes emergency landing in field

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

A Farmer wrote on Aug 14, 2007 3:38 PM:

" TO anyone bashing the pilots....The Aerial applicators are professional pilots doing a professional job. The Applicators provide Agriculture (our great nations greatest natural resource) with a economicly benificial service to agriculture. Our nations food supply depends on Aerial applicators. We are fortunate to have the cheapest and most abundant food supply in the world....Look at all the resturants along Veterans pkwy. Next time you eat Thank an Agricultural Pilot........Thank an American Farmer also!!!! "

Re: Re: Anybody who is~~ wrote on Aug 13, 2007 4:40 PM:

" Yeah, me. What's the point of what you just wrote? I can comprehend, I just have common sense and can recognize what a pilot in a crop dusting plane is doing, their job! "

Re: Anybody who is~~ wrote on Aug 13, 2007 3:50 PM:

" Yeah, you~~~ Read the posts, I'm over trying to explain it to you. Learn to comphrend, and open your mind to at least THINK about what the posts have to say. Have a great day! (over and out) "

Anybody who is wrote on Aug 13, 2007 3:18 PM:

" saying that he was flying irrationally, I have two questions for oyu. 1- Have you EVER seen a crop duster fly? It's not exactly what I would call "normal flying," because it's not, it's completely different. 2- Are you a pilot? That question should rest the case. I'll await your response(s).... "

Start Seeing Cropdusters wrote on Aug 13, 2007 2:34 PM:

" It is not unreasonable to question one's definition of "flying irrationally" since, to the general population, most everything a cropduster does in order to do his job, would be considered by an uniformed public to be "flying irrationally". People have been trained to watch out for farm equipment on the roads, watch out for motorcyclists, watch out for bicyclists....maybe we need an education campaign to "watch out for cropdusters" in or around agricultural fields. "

chief wrote on Aug 13, 2007 2:19 PM:

" so in your opinion the pilot was flying "irrationally" and "erratic " and "was'nt necessary"....what makes you the community expert on crop dusting planes and how they fly? where do you recommend they turn around so they can make multiple passes at a field. or better yet, maybe rather than doing the common 1/2 cuban eight manuver which it is commonly called, they could do a hammerhead stall turn so they don't have to venture over your house..they would never leave the boundries of the fields. then you wouldn't have to "duck" when he flies over. "

You bashers~ wrote on Aug 13, 2007 2:07 PM:

" Just don't want to accept the fact that this pilot was flying irrationally. Don't preach to me about the ways crop duster flies, I know. I also know that my posts have nothing to do with our food supply, or with where we live, (I do know, by the way), and I'm not the only person with the same opinion about the same flier! "

Here's an idea wrote on Aug 13, 2007 2:05 PM:

" Since these people are complaining so much, lets just not have crop dusting. The crops will die, farmers will be out of business, the Illinois Economy will get worse, and you'll have no food. How's that? Would you please quit complaining now, or move back to Chicago, or whatever Urban Sprawl it is you came from just to work at State Farm. "

me wrote on Aug 13, 2007 1:33 PM:

" There was a plane flying over the westside of Bloomington,,, very, very low and he looked like he might crash several times because of how erratic he was flying. When I saw him/her it wasn't Sunday though,,, can't remember the day but late last week. "

Midwest Farming wrote on Aug 13, 2007 1:26 PM:

" The residents of Bloomington-Normal too often forget that they live in a primarily agricultural area, site of some of the most productive farmland in the WORLD! Aerial spraying is a normal and accepted part of farming in the Midwest. There are more conflicts as urban sprawl stretches out into the corn and beanfields of the area, putting subdivisions literally right in the middle of fields which need to be sprayed. I would challenge anyone to attempt this profession themselves or to accept the worldwide food shortages and astronomical prices they would pay at the supermarket if no one did this job. And, on Sunday afternoon, when you were poolside or playing a round of golf, these pilots were working overtime to protect your food supply. "

It's Not About You wrote on Aug 13, 2007 1:15 PM:

" Most cropdusting planes today are yellow so it is highly unlikely, if not impossible, that this is one pilot hopscotching around the county for the express purpose of buzzing your home. Pilots do have to fly from field to field. Fully loaded with fuel and product, they are very heavy and unmaneuverable and it saves time not to climb to higher altitudes. Furthermore, they have to make turns over areas which are not the field in order to spray the entire field. While pilots try to avoid making turns over populated areas, there are fields which have been surrounded by residential growth where this practice is virtually impossible. "

??? wrote on Aug 13, 2007 1:07 PM:

" Yes, thank GOD the pilot was not hurt. "

the yellow plane wrote on Aug 13, 2007 12:52 PM:

" Yes, he was flying all over - Bloomington, Normal, and Hudson - on Sunday. He was flying very low and very unprofessional every time I saw him. He should have his license taken away. As far as the pilot in this story, good job!! "

The Joker wrote on Aug 13, 2007 12:52 PM:

" I have been warning people about this for years. If God meant for man to fly, he would have given him wings. What happens if they fly too far and fly off the end of the earth! "

??? wrote on Aug 13, 2007 12:24 PM:

" You bashers are way out of line. I did'nt say it was the same plane, and I would like the pilot who was flying in a yellow plane on 8/12 over the west side of B-town to explain his thoughts as to why he was flying over my house as much as he did. It was'nt necessary. "

Professional Pilots wrote on Aug 13, 2007 12:04 PM:

" Do you really think a professional pilot is going to risk his own life just to put on a show and "take out a suburban family"? These pilots are moving across the fields at well over 100 mph only a few feet off the ground. The margin of error is very small. They have been working 14-18 hours a day for weeks on end in temperatures nearing 100 degrees. They are the farming communities' first line of defense in protecting their crops. In addition to dealing with obstacles in the fields, homes, cell phone towers, etc. they also have to deal with bystanders and motorists who, unaware of the complexities, choose to park their cars in their direct path or get too near to the field "for a better show". Please show them some respect - they are the reason that you in the United States are able to eat as well as you do. "

re:??? wrote on Aug 13, 2007 11:59 AM:

" i know how you feel.we dont live anywhere near any crops but this guy was flying all around our neighborhood.VERY,VERY LOW.so to all you people saying he wasnt goofing off.YES HE WAS,AND IT WASNT FUNNY. "

to: ??? wrote on Aug 13, 2007 11:45 AM:

" your really vain thinking that a plane would notice you & want to put on a show for ya hot shot. "

Food for thought wrote on Aug 13, 2007 11:44 AM:

" Everyone is a victim now a days..... I feel sorry for people like ??? who are always being put into circumstances where they feel threatened. I wonder how threatened ??? would feel if she didn't have enough food to eat because crop dusters weren't around to spray the crops that we all consume. ??? let's think of how efficient of a tool these crop dusting aircraft are at spraying over such a large area; they ultimately save us all money at the register. I don't know the pilot personally, but your last statement of 'having no doubt if he would've lost control................'; these pilots are professionals and will avoid harming people on the ground, at all costs. "

TO:??? wrote on Aug 13, 2007 11:14 AM:

" Umm, no he wasnt putting on a show!! And know that wasent the same plane. This plane had been in the cooksville/Lexington are pretty much all day. Dont you relize that crop dusters have to get with in so many feet in order to dust the crops??? Yes it does look like they are getting way too close and yes it does look like they are "putting on a show" But they are just doing what they were hired to do. Personally I love watching them. Im sure your young boys really liked seeing it! "

Get Real Lady... wrote on Aug 13, 2007 11:03 AM:

" These crop dusting pilots logg extensive hours and their plane is their tool for their job. I doubt very much he was even aware of you as he "performed" critical turns to keep the precise pattern used for crop dusting. You are just another hyper suburbanite ignorant to the facts. As urban sprawl encroaches into farmland you may want to educate yourself to farming practices so you aren't so alarmed by routine crop management. "

Please wrote on Aug 13, 2007 10:57 AM:

" Get over it....it could have been one of several sprayers by your house. And, they aren't going to be putting on a show...they aren't out there joyriding, they are working and just trying to get done so they can get out of the heat and enjoy thier day. "

??? wrote on Aug 13, 2007 10:44 AM:

" I wonder if this is the same plane that dusted by our home on the west side of B-town Sunday morning. I literally felt the need to duck the plane was so close. I think when the person noticed us watching, they put on a show. Not funny. Mistakes happen. I have no doubt if he would have lost control, my husband would be burying his wife and two young sons. "

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