Pilot dies after small plane crashes into field in western Missouri

KEARNEY, Mo. -- A pilot died Thursday after a small plane crashed into a field in western Missouri.

The Clay County Sheriff's Office said a 911 caller reported the crash at 9:37 a.m. First responders found the plane engulfed in flames in a soybean field near Kearney, a town 25 miles northeast of Kansas City, Missouri.

The pilot's name has not been released. No one else was on the plane.

The sheriff's office said the twin-engine Piper aircraft took off from a small airport near the crash site. The plane had just fueled up, and the 140 gallons of fuel on board contributed to the fire, the office said in a news release.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the cause of the accident.