(KNZA)--One person was killed early Friday evening when a small plane crashed north of Hiawatha.
The Kansas Highway Patrol says killed in the crash was the pilot and lone occupant, 67-year-old Bruce Lutz, of Andover, Kansas.
The Patrol says Lutz was flying south in a 1975 Beechcraft airplane when it crashed for an unknown reason.
Brown County Sheriff John Merchant said the plane went down in a cornfield, north of 260th Road, between U.S. 73 Highway and Mallard Road.
The crash, which was reported around 5:15, occurred about one mile north of the Hiawatha Airport.
The plane was engulfed in flames when emergency responders arrived but was quickly extinguished.
The cause of the crash will be investigated by the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board.
According to his obituary from the Cozine Memorial Group, Lutz is survived by three children, including locally, Stacy Simmer of Hiawatha.
Funeral mass for Lutz will be Wednesday afternoon in Andover, with burial Friday morning in Tipton, Missouri.
Lutz has a background in the aviation industry, having worked as an engineer for Beechcraft and Cessna in Wichita and also as a private private consultant.
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