One person died after a plane crashed Tuesday afternoon near Hartsburg, according to a spokesperson from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
The plane crashed around 12:10 p.m., according to the Boone County Sheriff's Department. The Federal Aviation Administration has identified the plane as a single-engine Piper PA-46. Sgt. Kyle Green with the Highway Patrol described the aircraft as a "small Cessna-type plane."
The pilot was the only passenger on board, FAA spokesperson Steven Kulm said in an email.
A plane matching the description of the one that crashed near Hartsburg was flying from Madison, Wisconsin, to Siloam Springs, Arkansas.
The flight number has not been confirmed by the FAA. According to flight tracking data from flightradar24.com, flight N451MA from Madison was diverted to Columbia Regional Airport, but dropped off of the radar near Hartsburg.
The Columbia airport referred the Columbia Missourian to the Boone County Sheriff's office for any questions. According to KOMU, the airport in Siloam Springs did not have a visual on flight N451MA at the airport as of 3 p.m.
The Boone County Sheriff's Department is working with the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board to investigate the plane crash.
"We are securing the area, protecting it the best we can until they come to complete their investigation," said Capt. Brian Leer of the Boone County Sheriff's Department.
Boone County resident Mike Kilfoil said he witnessed the crash while sitting on his porch. He told the Missourian he saw the plane crash "right around lunch time" and called 911.
"It happened very quickly," Kilfoil said. "I heard a high-pitched, high RPM engine sound. ... (The plane) had disintegrated to the point that it took me a second to realize it was actually an airplane, the wings were broken. It came down at very nearly a 90-degree angle to the ground."
Other details were not immediately available. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
A preliminary report should be available in about 30 days. The entire investigation can take 12-24 months to complete.
The work of the Missouri News Network is written by Missouri School of Journalism students and editors for publication by Missouri Press Association member newspapers.
JJ Measer/Missourian photo: Capt. Brian Leer of the Boone County Sheriff's Department answers questions from the press at a police block Tuesday near Ashland.
Bailey Stover/Missourian photo: Mike Kilfoil stands next to an ATV on his property Tuesday near Ashland. Kilfoil watched the plane crash from his house and called authorities.
Aleigha Hornaday/Missourian photo: A piece of scrap metal from the plane's wing sits in the grass Tuesday near Ashland. The single-engine aircraft crashed earlier in the afternoon, resulting in one casualty.