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Pilot, 87, dies in crash of homemade plane

Monday, April 27, 2009

LOUISVILLE, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Highway Patrol said a pilot flying a single-engine homemade Sonex airplane died when he crashed in a wooded field while attempting to land in Northeast Ohio.

Patrol spokeswoman Sgt. Karla Taulbee said 87-year-old Robert McGrath of Louisville took off from Yoder Airport in Stark County Saturday morning, flew to Salem and was returning to the same airport when the plane went down at about 10:53 a.m.

Taulbee said McGrath was alone when the plane crashed in Nimishillen Township, about five miles east of Canton.

She said the aircraft’s cockpit and right side were heavily damaged.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the cause of the accident.