A Northfield man escaped with just minor injuries after crashing his small single-engine aircraft on July 31 in Farmington after an aborted landing.

The pilot, Benny Harris Svien, 61, was flying back home after a brief flight when he attempted to land on the runway located on his property in southern Dakota County, according to Sheriff Dave Bellows.

After attempting to land he powered the aircraft but began experiencing mechanical problems with the plane's rudder at approximately 1,700 feet, according to a media release from the Sheriff's Office.

The plane caught on fire after crashing in a cornfield. Svien was able to get out of the plane, sustaining only minor cuts to his neck.

The plane, a 2002 Kit Fox classified as an experimental aircraft, was destroyed in the crash. The crash was reported to the Dakota Communications Center at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.

In addition to the Sheriff’s Office, the Farmington Police and Fire Departments also responded to the scene. They were joined by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

The crash happened in a cornfield approximately 1/2-mile north of County Road 86 and east of Highway 3. The plane is located approximately 1/8-mile into the cornfield.

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