Hawley Aircraft Crash Victim Identified

UPDATE: The Clay County Sheriff says 69-year-old Bradley Gibb of Vergas, Minnesota died after an ultralight aircraft in Hawley Thursday afternoon.

The crash is still under investigation by the FAA, NTSB and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.

HAWLEY, Minn.– A pilot is dead and a bystander is injured after a small aircraft crashes in Hawley.

The crash happened right off of Highway 10 at the south end of the Hawley airport at around 12:20.

At the time the conditions were fairly good with light wind and clear skies.

When they got to the scene they found out someone had tried to help the pilot.

“Upon arrival we learned that a bystander had pulled the pilot from the aircraft and he did receive some minor burns,” said Sheriff Mark Empting of Clay County. “The aircraft did start on fire after impact and Hawley Fire did extinguish the fire.”

The bystander was treated on scene cleared to leave.

The pilot was pronounced dead when first responders arrived and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office says they will not be releasing their name until family is notified.

The Hawley Airport will be shut down for 24 hours by the airport manager, but the FAA could reopen it sooner.

The FAA was on scene and the NTSB has been notified of the crash.

Authorities have not determined the cause of the crash and their investigation is ongoing.

“There’s a lot to do yet, so once we get that determination done, they will let us know,” added Empting.

No debris made it onto the roadway, and traffic was not stopped or stalled because of the crash.