Photos show burned ultralight aircraft after pilot crashes in Kansas City’s Northland
A pilot who suffered severe burns when their ultralight aircraft crashed in a cornfield in suburban Kansas City’s Northland Thursday remains in critical condition, according to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.
The pilot was being treated at a burn center, Sarah Boyd, a spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office, said in a written statement Friday.
The sheriff’s office released two photos that showed the crashed aircraft severely damaged by fire.
Deputies were dispatched to the crash site Thursday shortly before 7:30 p.m. The call came in after the pilot had walked back to an airstrip from the crash site, Boyd said in a statement.
The pilot told investigators the aircraft had caught fire while still in the air, after taking off from the Liberty Landing Airport, a small airstrip on suburban Liberty’s outskirts near Missouri City. They were the only person reported injured and they were transported to a medical center.
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 during the investigation. Boyd said the tracks may have been damaged by the crash.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have joined the investigation.
