Clay County Sheriff’s Office Investigating Ultralight Aircraft Crash

Clay County Sheriff’s deputies are investigating the crash of an ultralight aircraft that left the pilot suffering severe burns Thursday evening.

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office reports receiving a 911 call at 7:29 P.M. Thursday in reference to a plane crash with the and injured pilot.

That aircraft reportedly had taken off from Liberty Landing Airport, a small airstrip between Liberty and Missouri City adjacent to the Missouri River, before quickly crashing.

The pilot, who was the lone occupant of the aircraft, was able to get out of the burning aircraft and walk back to the airport, where a bystander called 911 and an ambulance took that pilot to the hospital for treatment of severe burns.

According to the media release, it took deputies and the Kansas City Missouri Police Department’s helicopter more than an hour to locate the wrecked ultralight in a nearby cornfield. They report smoke was still coming from the aircraft.

Firefighters from the Fishing River Fire District and Liberty Fire Department put the fire out.

Adjacent railroad tracks were shut down during the investigation and may have sustained damage from the crash.

the investigation was scheduled to be turned over to the FAA, who was expected to be in Clay County today.