Mayfield, Kentucky: Pilot Killed When L-39 Jet Crashes in Field After Takeoff

A Wisconsin pilot was killed Sunday afternoon when the military style jet he was flying crashed in a field near Mayfield Graves County Airport in western Kentucky, according to the Graves County Sheriff's Office.

Calls reporting a downed plane near Interstate 69 and Kentucky Highway 131 reached 911 at about 2:08 p.m., Sheriff Jon Hayden said. Emergency responders found the jet in a field just off Spence Chapel Road, engulfed in flames. The pilot was the only person on board. He died at the scene, and his name had not been released as of Sunday evening.

A refueling stop on the way home

The pilot and his daughter, both from Wisconsin, were returning from an airshow in Mississippi, the sheriff's office said. Each of them was flying an L-39 Albatros, an older military style jet. They had stopped at the Mayfield airport to refuel before continuing the trip home.

After the pilot took off again, he radioed that he was experiencing an issue and was returning to the airport, the sheriff's office said. The jet went down soon afterward, in the field off Spence Chapel Road. His daughter brought the second L-39 back to the airport and landed safely.

What investigators know, and what they do not

The confirmed facts are few and plain. The two jets stopped in Mayfield only for fuel. The crash was reported at 2:08 p.m. near the junction of Interstate 69 and Kentucky Highway 131. The pilot radioed a problem after takeoff and tried to get back to the airport. He was the sole occupant of the jet, and he died at the scene.

The open questions are just as plain. Officials have not released the pilot's name. They have not said what issue he reported on the radio. No cause for the crash has been given, and the sheriff's office has not said how long the field will stay closed off.

Federal investigators take the case

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have been notified and are responding to investigate, the sheriff's office said. The area around the field was cordoned off as investigators began their work, Hayden said.

Mayfield is the Graves County seat in western Kentucky, and its small airport sits between Interstate 69 and farmland outside town. On Sunday afternoon it was the last stop on a father and daughter flight home, and the place where one of the two jets never arrived.