Indiana Plane Crash

Small plane crashes in field near Muncie, Indiana after pilot fails to respond, NORAD officials tell BNO News.

A small plane crashed in Indiana on Wednesday after its pilot failed to respond to radio calls, officials told BNO News.

The plane went down in a farm field near the city of Muncie, according to a spokeswoman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). The condition of the pilot was not immediately clear.

The single engine aircraft, a Mooney type plane capable of carrying four people, departed Grand Rapids, Michigan on a post-maintenance flight and lost communications with ground air traffic controllers during the flight at around 10 a.m. EDT. Two F-16 fighter jets intercepted the plane under the direction of the North American Aerospace Defense Command.

The F-16 pilots intercepting the aircraft reported the pilot unresponsive, and officials said the incident is not believed to be part of any terrorist activity. “We are not really sure why [the pilot was unresponsive],” a spokeswoman said.

The plane was flying under escort by the fighter jets until it crashed in a field near Munich at 12.40 p.m. EDT. Earlier, NORAD said the plane was flying generally south 60 miles northeast of Indianapolis and was losing altitude.

“The intent of military intercepts is to have the identified aircraft re-establish communications with local FAA air traffic controllers and instruct the pilot to follow air traffic controllers to land safely for further follow-on action,” a statement from NORAD read.