The Clay County Sheriff’s Department is currently investigating a fatal plane crash that occurred east of Kearney on Thursday morning, July 20th.
According to the sheriff’s office, the pilot, identified as 79-year-old Alan “Doug” Moler from Valley Center, Kansas, was found deceased by the Excelsior Springs and Kearney fire departments. Moler was the sole occupant of the privately owned twin-engine Piper aircraft involved in the incident.
The authorities received a distress call about the plane crash, and upon arriving at the scene, they discovered the aircraft fully engulfed in flames, lying in a soybean field near the intersection of Northeast 150th and Cordell streets.
Preliminary reports from the sheriff’s office indicate that the flight had just taken off from the Midwest Regional Air Center, a Clay County-owned airport located in Mosby. The plane had recently been refueled and was carrying approximately 140 gallons of fuel, which is believed to have contributed to the intensity of the fire. Moler was en route to an airport in Wichita, Kansas, at the time of the crash.
During the descent, the plane struck power lines, causing live wires to fall. As a result, residents living on Northeast 150th Street, east of Cordell Street, faced temporary obstructions to their homes until the wires were safely removed from the road.
The crash also resulted in debris scattered outside of the soybean field. However, authorities have decided to leave the wreckage in place until federal aviation authorities arrive to conduct a thorough investigation. Consequently, Cordell Street will remain closed at Highway 92, with One Hundred Fiftieth Street and sections of Shady Grove Road also blocked off.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported among those on the ground in connection with the accident.
As of now, the cause of the crash remains undetermined. The Clay County Sheriff’s Office plans to transfer the investigation to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) once the initial response and evidence gathering has been completed.
