N5542R

On July 10, 1996, at 1400 central daylight time, a Cessna 172, N5542R, being flown by a private pilot undershot the runway and collided with the terrain while landing on runway 36 at the Dornink Airstrip, Freeport, Illinois. The airplane was substantially damaged. The pilot and two passengers were not injured. The 14 CFR Part 91 flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions without a flight plan. The flight originated from Reedsburg, Wisconsin, at 1300 cdt.

The pilot stated that he lowered 30 degrees of flaps throughout the traffic pattern. He stated that on short final he realized that he was too low to land on the level portion of the runway and instead was heading for the upslope overrun area at the approach end of the runway. He stated he added power; however, the airplane stalled and impacted the upslope. He stated the airplane then veered to the left into a soy bean field. The pilot reported he attempted to "get the aircraft airborne. When I knew I could not get back into the air I shut off the engine and held the nose up to avoid flipping over. The aircraft ground looped in the soy bean field... ."