Authorities continue to investigate the crash of a fixed wing single engine plane today north of Winfield and the death of the plane’s pilot.
The pilot, 63-year-old Jerris Lynn Riffel, of Denton, Tx., was found dead in a pasture approximately 1 1/2 miles north of the location of his wrecked one-person plane, according to Cowley County Undersheriff Bill Mueller.
The cause of the crash remains a puzzle.
"Beyond that we really know very little about what happened, how it happened, why it happened," Mueller told reporters at the scene.
Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration arrived this afternoon to take charge of the scene. Members of the National Transportation Safety Board traveling up from Texas are expected to arrive around 6 p.m. today, Mueller said. The NTSB investigates all civilian plane crashes.
The plane’s original route is unknown at this time, according to Mueller. It is believed the plane was on a course starting and intending to end in Kansas. Riffel’s plane was seen flying in from the northwest. Some debris from the plane was found near the body, Mueller said.
Witnesses in the area told authorities they heard the sound of a plane engine sometime after 10 a.m. A few witnesses saw the plane touch the ground once and bounce up, clipping a few trees before crashing in a large field near the intersection of 111th and 62nd Road.
Emergency crews responded to the scene and searched the area for several hours looking for possible survivors. Riffel’s body was found just before 1 p.m.
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Authorities have discovered the body of one victim believed to have been involved in the plane crash that occurred this morning in rural Cowley County.
The victim was discovered just before 1 p.m. today, according to Winfield firefighters at the scene. No other information about the individual has been made available.
The body found is believed to be that of the missing pilot, authorities at the scene said.
Check back with Newscow for further updates.
Read below for earlier updates.
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Local authorities are investigating a possible plane crash this morning located north of Winfield between Udall and Atlanta.
Cowley County Undersheriff Bill Mueller is headed to the scene of the accident, and local emergency teams have been dispatched.
No injuries have been reported.
***Update at 10:43 a.m.***
No one has been found at the site of the crash, according to Cowley County Undersheriff Bill Mueller.
"We are unable to find a pilot or anybody at this point," Mueller said.
Mueller described the plane as a small craft. Wreckage was discovered near 111th and 62nd Road.
***Update at 11 a.m.***
Authorities at the scene say the craft is a fixed wing single engine plane registered to an owner in Denton, Tx.
***Update at 11:15 a.m.***
A Kansas Highway Patrol plane has been dispatched to northern Cowley County to assist with the investigation of the plane crash, authorities said.
***Update at 12:15 p.m.***
Witnesses heard engine noise from the small plane at roughly 10:15 a.m. and watched as the small craft bounced once then clipped several trees before coming to a rest, according to Cowley County Emergency Management Coordinator Brian Stone.
Stone spoke with reporters at the scene, and said so far emergency crews had not found any sign of a pilot and only one seat in the plane’s wreckage. Crews are also searching in a grid pattern around the crash site looking for survivors.
Some reports indicated the plane had been traveling a route from Kansas City to Wichita before it veered southeast and crashed, but Stone was unable to confirm that information at this time.
Check in with Newscow for further updates. Newscow reporter Shane Farley is reporting from the scene.
