A Windsor pilot said his training kicked in and he and his airplane came out of an off-airport landing essentially unscathed.

John Cundle was on a night flight last week when the engine on his Cessna 152 quit. He called a mayday and the controller recommended Sarnia Airport but he didn’t have the gliding distance to make it.

He told the CBC he briefly considered a highway landing but rejected it because he didn’t want to imperil anyone else.

He headed for the darkest area he could see on the ground and got lucky. It was a nice, flat corn field.

The corn stopped him in 38 metres and the aircraft remained upright and intact.

The owner of the field had to harvest the corn to allow access to the aircraft but that left it exposed on the bare field. He spent last Monday night camping out with the plane to prevent vandalism.