Update: Small airplane crashes near West Fargo

WEST FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) – The North Dakota Highway Patrol says a plane crashed just after leaving the area of the West Fargo Municipal Airport after hitting a row of trees.

The plane went down in a soybean field near the West Fargo city lagoons on 12th Avenue North.

The call came in at 3:50 Tuesday afternoon and took first responders about seven minutes to arrive on scene.

City officials say the pilot was not local out of the West Fargo Municipal Airport. He is believed to be in his 60s and had to be cut out as he was trapped inside the wreckage and taken to the hospital.

“He had major trauma to his legs and he was pinned in the aircraft. After going through and shutting off the batteries and the fuel we used our extrication tools and extricated the pilot from the aircraft,” West Fargo Fire Department Chief Dan Fuller said.

Conditions at the time of the crash were clear with winds at 15 miles per hour.

The crash remains under investigation by the FAA and the pilot will be identified once his family is notified.