Crop spraying plane near Brookings crashes after colliding with ducks
The Brookings County Sheriff’s Office, Brookings Fire Department, Brookings Ambulance, and South Dakota Highway Patrol responded Thursday to a plan crash near Brookings. The Sheriff’s Office said in a press release that a Thrush S2R spray plane was spraying fields on Thursday afternoon. The pilot, Jeffrey Brunsen, was making a maneuver to transition back to the field he was spraying when a flock of ducks flew in front of him and into the engine.
The plane became disabled and the pilot prepared for an emergency landing, and set the plane down in a grass field near 474th Ave and 198th St. The engine came out of the aircraft and the craft runed onto its top. Brunsen was able to crawl out of the aircraft on his own. Brunsen was transported to the Brookings Hospital by ambulance to be treated for unknown injuries.
The damage to the aircraft was estimated at $450,000. The plane is owned by Wilde Air Service out of Brookings.
There was no damage to any fields reported