Sheriff's Office investigating ultralight aircraft crash

Deputies are investigating the crash of an ultralight aircraft that led to the pilot suffering severe burns Thursday, Sept 14. 

The Sheriff's Office received a 911 call at 7:29 p.m. about a plane crash with the pilot (who was the sole occupant) injured. The aircraft had taken off from Liberty Landing Airport, 20424 E. Old 210 Highway. (It's a small airstrip between Liberty and Missouri City adjacent to the Missouri River.) The pilot was able to get out of the burning aircraft and walk back to the airport, where a bystander called 911. He told deputies the aircraft caught fire while he was in the air. An ambulance transported him to the hospital with severe burns. 

It took deputies and the Kansas City Missouri Police Department's helicopter more than an hour to locate the wrecked ultralight in a nearby cornfield. Smoke was still coming from the aircraft. Firefighters from the Fishing River Fire District and Liberty Fire Department put the fire out. 

Adjacent railroad tracks were shut down during the investigation and may have sustained damage from the crash. We are turning the investigation over to the FAA, which will arrive tomorrow.