JACKSON TOWNSHIP — A 72-year-old Indiana pilot died Monday evening in a single-engine plane crash, according to the Ashland Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
Gary Wolfelt of West Lafayette, Ind., was the only person aboard the Experimental Express 2000 FT, troopers said.
The crash occurred around Polk, about four miles away from the Ashland County Airport.
According to WKYC-TV in Cleveland, citing data from FlightAware, Wolfelt’s plane took off from Burke Lakefront Airport in the rain before it eventually crashed about 60 miles southwest of Cleveland.
Data from the FAA shows the aircraft was an eight-year-old kit model Express 2000 FT, with Wolfelt listed as the owner, the station reported.
The plane crashed into the woods near Ohio 89 and Township Road 902 around 7:42 p.m., according to the patrol, citing a preliminary investigation.
Troopers were assisted at the scene by the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office, the Polk Jackson Perry Fire District, the Ashland County Coroner’s Office, the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration.
The incident remains under investigation, the patrol said. The FAA will investigate the crash.