A Wisconsin pilot was killed on Sunday afternoon when his military-style jet crashed in a field near Mayfield-Graves County Airport in western Kentucky. His daughter, who was flying a second jet on the same journey, returned to the airport and landed safely.

The crash happened shortly after 2 p.m. on Sunday 8 November, according to the Graves County Sheriff's Office. Emergency dispatchers received reports of a downed plane at around 2:08 p.m. near Interstate 69 and Kentucky Highway 131. Responders found the aircraft in a field just off Spence Chapel Road, engulfed in flames. The pilot, the plane's sole occupant, had died.

Father and daughter flying home from an airshow

The pilot and his daughter, both from Wisconsin, were returning from an airshow in Mississippi and had stopped at the Mayfield airport to refuel. Each was flying their own Aero L-39 Albatros, an older military-style jet trainer widely flown by civilian owners.

After takeoff, the father radioed that he was experiencing a problem and was returning to the airport. The aircraft went down in a field soon afterwards, about 1.5 miles from the airport. The second L-39, flown by his daughter, returned to the airport and landed without incident.

The identity of the pilot had not been released by authorities as of Sunday evening, and his daughter was also not identified in initial reports.

Investigation under way

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were notified and responded to the scene. The area was cordoned off as investigators began their work. The cause of the crash had not been established.

The sheriff's office said the aircraft came down in a field about 1.5 miles from the airport and was found fully engulfed in flames when emergency crews arrived. The pilot was the only person on board. His daughter, who had been flying alongside him in the second jet, was unhurt.

The Aviation Safety Network lists the accident aircraft as an Aero L-39C Albatros, registration N339NA, built in 1983, and local reports confirm the pilot reported a problem and turned back toward the runway before the crash.

The L-39 Albatros, built in the former Czechoslovakia, was designed as a military jet trainer and remains a common sight at airshows, where private owners fly them in formation and aerobatic displays. Sunday's flight was a routine journey home from such an event, ending in tragedy for one family and a narrow escape for the other.

Graves County Sheriff Jon Hayden said the investigation would be led by the FAA and NTSB, who will examine the wreckage and the circumstances of the flight to determine what went wrong.