KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a fatal plane crash northeast of Kansas City have identified the pilot who died as 79-year-old Alan “Doug” Moler of Valley Center, Kansas, according to the Clay County Missouri Sheriff's office.
Just after 9:30a.m., a 911 caller reported a plane crashed in a field. 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.
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, according to the sheriff's department. The Pilot was in route to an airport in Wichita.
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. 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 was to arrive Thursday afternoon, and the NTSB has indicated they will arrive Friday, according to the sheriff's office.
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