MILLERSBURG — A small plane crashed Tuesday in a pasture in rural mid-Missouri, killing the only person on board.
The Callaway County Sheriff's office identified the pilot as Jared F. Hobaugh, 31, of Alaska.
Sheriff Dennis Crane said the plane, a 1947 Piper airplane, went down in a pasture about five miles east of Columbia Regional Airport. Hobaugh had recently purchased the plane at an air show in Pennsylvania.
He was flying the plane to Wichita, Kan., where he has family. From Wichita, he planned to fly the plane to Alaska where he lives and operates as a tour guide.
Crane said witnesses reported seeing a plane flying about 50 or 60 feet above the ground. They heard a sputtering engine and smelled gas fumes, then heard a crash a few minutes later.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.