Airplane crashes in Alabama field, killing pilot

Published 9:33 pm Sunday, December 13, 2020

The pilot of a small aircraft was killed when his plane crashed into a field in Alabama over the weekend, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

The pilot was not immediately identified. No other injuries or deaths were reported.

The plane, a Beech V35A, took off from Murray, Kentucky, at around 11:31 a.m. Saturday and was heading for Merritt Island, Florida, National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Peter Knudson said Sunday

The plane climbed to 9,000 feet (2,743 meters) and made contact with air traffic controllers in Birmingham, Alabama, but later lost radar communication, Knudson said, adding: “That’s the last we heard.”

The plane went down in a field in Attalla, Alabama, just before 1 p.m., officials said.

Knudson said two inspectors from the Federal Aviation Administration were on the scene with local officials.