Engine failure puts plane in Faulkner County soybean field
Aug. 25, 2026
By Mary Hightower
University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
Fast Facts
- King Air 200 suffered single engine failure after takeoff
- Plane became short-term ‘tourist attraction’
(525 words)
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CONWAY, Ark. — Faulkner County Extension Agent Kevin Lawson is used to seeing all manner of pests in soybean fields. However, the winged thing he saw in Jill Edwards’ field last week was a first.
As part of his work as an agriculture agent for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, he’s used to visiting farms, scanning fields for anything that might affect a crop.
Coming across Edwards’ farm, he said, “I think I have the king of finds in a soybean field.”
It wasn’t a plant bug or an armyworm or some exotic invasive species. It was a Beechcraft King Air 200, a twin turboprop airplane with 11 seats.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration’s preliminary report, the plane carrying one pilot and two passengers suffered a single-engine failure after taking off from Conway Municipal Airport at Cantrell Field. The pilot tried to return to the airport but wound up in Edwards’ soybean field on Aug. 9
There were no injuries.
As they do nearly every Sunday, Edwards and her and her sister’s families were at their parents’ house when a neighbor farmer texted her a picture.
“I had to do a double take,” she said. “It’s not something you see every day.”
The picture showed a white plane with a high T tail in a sea of green soybeans.
Then the phone calls came.
“Are you growing airplanes now?” one caller asked Edwards. “Is that an airplane in your field?” another asked.
As word got out, the field became something of a local tourist attraction.
“There were lots of people coming to look at it. You could see it from the main road, but you have to know the turnrows area to get to it,” Edwards said.
Drone photos taken by Edwards show the white plane cutting a straight path through the beans as it set down and continued along a curved path through the field, almost as if it was trying to drive off the field. The path consisted of parallel tracks that appeared to have been rotored out by the propellers.
Edwards said she wasn’t sure how much of a soft landing the plane made.
“They landed in a bedded field,” likely making for a bumpy ride, she said.
With the rows and the plants, “it’s crazy how far into the field they made it,” Lawson said.
Using one of Edwards’ track hoes, a service company towed the plane out of the soybean field later that week. The family had to bush hog nearly an acre-and-a-half of corn to enable the plane to be pulled off the farm.
Edwards said her next step was to check the soybean fields where the plane landed to see if its ruts affected any row irrigation. Her soybeans were still blooming and filling pods, so further irrigation is needed to finish out the crop.
In addition to corn and soybeans, Edwards farms rice and some wheat and also has a cow-calf operation.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit uada.edu. To learn more about ag and food research in Arkansas, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station at aaes.uada.edu.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land-grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 22 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on three campuses.
Pursuant to 7 CFR § 15.3, the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services (including employment) without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, sexual preference, pregnancy or any other legally protected status, and is an equal opportunity institution.
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Media Contact:
Nick Kordsmeier
nkordsme@uada.edu