A pilot was identified as the only fatality when his plane crashed in a soybean field near Kearney on Thursday, July 20. Clay County Sheriff’s Office Information Officer Sarah Boyd said the plane went down near NE 150th Street and Cordell Road.

The Sheriff’s Office said a caller reported a plane crashed in a field at about 9:37 am. Excelsior Springs and Kearney fire departments responded and discovered the deceased pilot was the sole occupant of the plane.

The pilot, 79-year-old Alan “Doug” Moler of Valley Center, Kansas, died at the scene of the crash. Moler had been on his way to an airport in Wichita, the sheriff’s office stated.

Moler took off from the Midwest Regional Air Center, a Clay County-owned airport, 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.

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. Other nearby residents may be without power until the lines can be repaired. No one on the ground was injured.

Sheriff’s Office investigators have not yet determined what caused the plane to crash.

KPGZ News - The Clay County Sheriff’s office contributed to this story