On July 8, 2002, approximately 2130 central european time, a homebuild semiscale Thrush Commander, PH-BEN, crashed in a field three miles east of Almere, Netherlands. The ground based pilot received no physical injuries, and the aircraft, which was being operated by Ben Jansen, sustained substantial damage. The simulated 14 CFR Part 137 agricultural application flight departed MVA Field, Almere, approximately 8 minutes prior to the accident, and was being operated in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan had been filed.

According to the pilot, the aircraft stopped responding to control input. The plane continued flight for a few seconds and then crashed from an altitude of about 60 feet AGL. The plane crashed nose down with a powersetting of 20%.