ST. FRANCIS COUNTY, Ark. — Emergency officials said one person is dead after a crop duster crashed in eastern Arkansas.
The Arkansas Department of Emergency Management said the crash happened Wednesday morning in a field north of Wheatley, about 70 miles east of Little Rock.
According to Wheatley Mayor Larry Nash, the pilot was Chad McLain. The 42-year-old farmer was the chief of Wheatley’s Volunteer Fire Department and also flew for Chism Flying Service doing crop dusting.
Nash says he knew McLain is whole life and can’t believe he’s gone.
“He was just a terrific guy. He never got paid a thing, and he was on the fire department before he ever became chief.”
Having lost his own son in a crop duster crash, Nash knows what McLain’s family is going through.
McLain was flying early Wednesday morning when the plane he was in crashed. An employee on the farm saw the incident and called police. He then rushed to the crash site and, with the help of the local police chief, pulled McLain from the wreckage.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause.
It was not immediately known what led to the crash.