By Bill Lukitsch
The Kansas City Star
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An ultralight aircraft crashed into a cornfield in suburban Kansas City’s Northland on Thursday evening before catching fire and injuring the pilot, according to police.
The plane crashed after taking off from the Liberty Landing Airport, a small airstrip on suburban Liberty’s outskirts near Missouri City. The pilot, who suffered severe burns, was the only person reported injured Thursday night.
Sarah Boyd, a spokeswoman for the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, said deputies were dispatched to the 911 call shortly before 7:30 p.m. The call came in after the pilot and walked back to the airstrip from the crash site, Boyd said in a statement.
Firefighters were called in to assist, along with a Kansas City police helicopter. Boyd said it took an hour to find the downed aircraft, which was still burning until firefighters extinguished the flames.
The crash site was near railroad tracks, which were shut down amid the site investigation Thursday. Boyd said the tracks may have been damaged by the crash.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office was turning the investigation over to the Federal Aviation Administration. Representatives from the FAA were expected to arrive Friday.
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