NEWARK - A pilot found dead Monday afternoon in a crashed plane in LaSalle County was apparently trying to land when he went down in a bean field half a mile short of a runway, the airfield owner said Tuesday. | Joseph E. Johnson obituary

The pilot and lone occupant, Joseph E. Johnson, 77, of New Lenox, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash around 3 p.m. just south of Cushing Field near Newark, authorities said. An autopsy was scheduled for later Tuesday, authorities said.

Johnson took off from the airfield at 10:30 a.m. in the single-engine SportCruiser, an aircraft manufactured in the Czech Republic and recently purchased by the airfield to rent out to pilots, said airfield owner Bud Cushing.

Johnson, a retiree who had previously rented planes from the field, wasn't expected back at a particular time Monday, and the downed aircraft was spotted by an instructor who was flying over the area, Cushing said.

Johnson's plane crashed in an area that Cushing said suggests the plane was trying to approach the runway and land, judging from the airfield's regular flight pattern.

The new, $125,000 plane was purchased about six weeks ago by the airfield, Cushing said. He said that judging from shearing on the plane's propellers, the engine appeared to have been running near the time of the crash. He said the airfield has no other early indications of mechanical problems on board.

There was no inclement weather in the area at the time of the crash, Cushing said.

Like other similar aircrafts, the SportCruiser is licensed and maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration, he said. The plane is rented for $95 an hour, including fuel, at the airfield.

An FAA investigation into the crash is under way, and information will be forwarded to the National Transportation Safety Board once it has concluded, said FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro.

The crash also remains under investigation by the LaSalle County sheriff's office and county coroner's office.