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Last updated on Thursday, May 16, 2013
(WEST LAFAYETTE) - Officials are investigating a plane that crashed at Purdue University airport.
According to Purdue Police Department Chief John Cox, the pilot left after crashing, then returned to the scene Wednesday morning.
The plane crashed into a fence causing only minor damage to single-engine Cessna 182.
According to Cox, the plane developed engine problems forcing the pilot to find an airport to land. The plane crash landed sometime after 9 p.m. Tuesday. The Purdue Airport director contacted police Wednesday morning to report the crash.
Cox says this particular runway closes at 9 p.m., so investigators believe the pilot of the plane was unfamiliar with the runway and landed the plane too close to the fence, crashing into it.
WLFI-News 18 spoke with the pilot, who wishes to go unnamed until the FAA gives him the all clear to be identified. The pilot says he left the airport after crashing because it was closed and he did not know what to do. He then returned to the airport Wednesday morning.
The pilot was uninjured in the landing.
Cox said the plane is registered to a company based out of San Diego and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is conducting its investigation into the crash. The FAA says there will most likely be no criminal investigation.
Once the FAA on-site investigation is finished, the plane will be towed to Lafayette Aviation for inspection. Then, once it's cleared, the pilot intends to complete his flight to San Diego.
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