Sheriff's Office investigating fatal plane crash
UPDATE, August 10: The National Transportation Safety Board has issued their preliminary report in the crash.
UPDATE, 4:15 p.m.:
All roads in the area have reopened. The FAA is on site.
UPDATE: 2 p.m.
The deceased pilot is identified as 79-year-old Alan “Doug” Moler of Valley Center, Kan. He went by Doug. He was in route to an airport in Wichita.
The crash scattered debris outside of the soybean field that deputies will have to leave in place until federal aviation authorities arrive to conduct their investigation. Therefore, Cordell Street at 92 Highway, N.E. 150th Street, and parts of Shady Grove Road will remain closed.
ORIGINAL, noon:
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a fatal plane crash east of Kearney this morning.
A 911 caller reported a plane crashed in a field at about 9:37 a.m. today. The plane was fully engulfed in flames and resting in a soybean field near NE 150th and Cordell streets. Excelsior Springs and Kearney fire departments responded and discovered the pilot was the sole occupant of the plane. The pilot was deceased.
The pilot’s identity will be shared after family has been notified.
Immediately before the crash, the plane had taken off from the Midwest Regional Air Center, a Clay County-owned airport at 13106 Rhodus Road, Mosby, Mo., located a short distance from the crash scene. The plane is a privately owned twin-engine Piper aircraft. It had just fueled up and had 140 gallons of fuel on board, which contributed to the fire.
Sheriff’s Office investigators have not yet determined what caused the plane to crash.
The plane struck power lines during its descent, knocking down live wires. Residents on NE 150th Street east of Cordell were blocked from their homes until the wires could safely be removed from the roadway. Other nearby residents may be without power until the lines can be repaired. No one on the ground was injured.
After the initial response and evidence gathering, the Sheriff’s Office will turn the investigation over to the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board. The FAA will arrive this afternoon, and the NTSB has indicated they will arrive tomorrow.
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