Pilot dead after small plane crashes in Missouri soybean field: Clay County Sheriff’s Office
A pilot is dead after a small plane crashed Thursday morning in a Missouri soybean field.
Sheriff’s deputies and local fire crews responded around 9:37 a.m. just south of Northeast 150th Street and Cordell Road, where the plane had crashed near Kearney, Missouri, said Sarah Boyd, a spokeswoman for the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.
Officials identified the pilot as Alan “Doug” Moler, 79, of Valley Center, Kansas.
Boyd said the privately-owned twin-engine Piper plane had just fueled up with 140 gallons of fuel on board when it struck a power line on its way to an airport in Wichita. When law enforcement and fire officials arrived, the plane was engulfed in flames.
Moler was the only occupant of the plane.
Nearby residents may be without power until the lines can be repaired. Cordell at 92 Highway, Northeast 150th Street and portions of Shady Grove Road will remain closed because debris scattered outside of the field must stay there for federal aviation officials to conduct their investigation.
Witnesses told officials the plane didn’t seem to reach a high enough altitude when it took off from the Midwest Regional Air Center, located on Rhodus Road in Mosby.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the incident.
