I was correcting some files earlier this week and happened to need to double check something for the set of airplane photos that came in last year, along with some other low priority items without much documentation. Specifically, they are very old black and white photographs of a small plane wreck in a corn field. There was no context given for what they show, just the photos themselves, and the fact that they came in alongside an assortment of news clippings, family photos, and things pulled out of old scrapbooks. The family photos were higher priority for genealogical research so I spent more time on those. The plane photos have honestly been bugging me a little, so I've done some research on my own time.
As far as the event shown, it's most likely it was local but this isn't completely certain. There are plenty of farms and also corn fields in the area. So it's no stretch to think this crash might have happened somewhere nearby. One thing that sticks out to me about the photos themselves is that they're old, somewhat fragile and worn, and show signs of having been repaired with tape over the years. One photo even has the characteristic haphazard scribbles of a very young child figuring out how to maneuver a pen on the reverse. For whatever reason, people felt this was important to not only to capture on film but also to have around, preserve, and keep handing down. Why exactly, I'm not sure, but I'd like to know.
My main thought is this could have been their farm and it's certainly a big deal if a plane crashes there, even if a small plane. And it may have also been that they knew the person flying it, whether it was their own employee or even a family member. At present, there's not enough information to tell. Also uncertain is the condition of the pilot (and the passengers too, if there were any). No one fitting that description is immediately pictured. However in a few photos there are some people standing close to the edge of the wreck site, where the corn stalks are not crushed and rise higher than their heads -- likely standing out of the way so the photo could be taken, and a little blurred from their movement.
From the wreckage itself, it's hard to imagine a human being could extricate themself from it alive unless they had the good fortune to parachute out beforehand. You never really know though, people do walk away from some incredibly deadly-looking wrecks sometimes. It's hard to tell for sure but there appears to be some indication of fire prior to the photo being taken. Additionally, a few of the photos appear to show the engine and propeller in a completely different part of the field, implying it might have detached in flight or been hurled a distance away in the impact.
There's a lot I don't know about aviation, and I know I'm treading dangerously on ground a lot of people are really passionate about. But at present, I believe I'm looking at what used to be a plane used for cropdusting. It's a minor mystery and unfortunately not one I can devote a lot of time to currently. It's certainly stuck in the back of my mind though. This was probably a big deal and I want to get the rest of the story. Tracking down proof of what event these photos show still eludes me. With another look at that file, it's reignited the desire to find out again. It's always rewarding just to connect an object with the information that helps support its meaning. And there might be a story here, that goes unspoken otherwise. It may be worth it to give it another shot.