Crop-dusting pilot John Goerger with Wilbur Ellis Co killed after his Air Tractor 602 plane crashed in a bean field 1,500 feet south of Highway 13, just nine miles west of Gwinner, ND

UPDATE (7:11): John Goerger from Barney has been identified as the pilot in the deadly plane crash near Gwinner, North Dakota.

Officials with Wilbur-Ellis, where Goerger was employed for 11 years, confirmed his identity after family could be notified.

UPDATE (2:00): At 7:41 Thursday morning a 2010 Air Tractor 602 agricultural spray plane crashed in a bean field 1,500 feet south of Highway 13, just nine miles west of Gwinner. 

The pilot, an adult male from Barney died in the crash. The plane took off from the Lisbon airport and crashed a short time later. Fog was present at the time of the crash.

The crash is still under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration.


ORIGINAL: Travis Paeper with the Sargent County Sheriff's Department has confirmed that a man is dead after a plane crashed 8 miles west of Gwinner, ND.
Paeper says the crash happened around 8 Thursday morning. An area farmer witnessed the crash. 

The plane that went down was an Air Tractor 602. 

Police say the dense fog may have been a factor of the crash. The man's identity is being withheld until family is notified.

Date:	29-JUN-2017
Time:	07:45
Type:	Air Tractor AT-602
Owner/operator:	Wilbur Ellis Co
Registration:	N4196Y
C/n / msn:	602-1183
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:	0
Airplane damage:	Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:	8 miles west of Gwinner, Sargent County, SD -   United States of America
Phase:	Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:	Agricultural
Departure airport:	Lisbon Muni (6L3)
Destination airport:	Lisbon Muni (6L3)

Narrative:
The aircraft impacted farm field terrain during an aerial application flight west of Gwinner, North Dakota. The airplane was destroyed. The sole pilot on-board was fatally injured. He was employed for 11 years in this company.
Weather may have been a factor to the incident. Fog was present at the time of the crash.

Sources:

http://www.valleynewslive.com/content/news/Pilot-dies-after-crashing-plane-near-Gwinner-ND--431561873.html
http://kfgo.com/news/articles/2017/jun/29/pilot-killed-in-crop-sprayer-crash-near-gwinner/
http://www.wday.com/4290754-crop-spraying-pilot-dies-dense-fog-when-plane-nosedives-field
___________________________
http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=4196Y