BEL AIRE, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a pilot suffered only minor injuries when he was forced to make a crash landing near the Wichita suburb of Bel Aire. The Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office says the single-engine plane was flying from Nebraska to Kansas when it suffered a mechanical failure.
Officials say the pilot — described as a Wichita man in his 30s — was trying to reach Jabara Airport in Wichita, but was forced to put the plane down in a field just northeast of the city.
Officials say the rough landing destroyed the plane, but left the pilot with only minor injuries that were treated at the scene. The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating.