MACEDONIA, Ala. (AP) - Federal transportation officials are investigating after a small plane crashed in an Alabama community, killing the pilot.
The Jackson County Sheriff's Office says it responded Monday about 7 p.m. in the Macedonia community. WAFF-TV reports authorities found an ultralight plane that had crashed between two houses. The pilot was identified as 54-year-old Rodney Cagle of Macedonia. First responders say Cagle was still strapped into the plane and alive when they found him, but died shortly after. His body has been taken to the Department of Forensic Sciences for an autopsy.
Sheriff Chuck Phillips says Cagle apparently had just purchased the aircraft and was practicing touch-and-go landings and ended up crashing into a tree.
Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration arrived Tuesday to try and determine what caused the crash.