BY SCOTT JENKINS
SALISBURY POST

CONCORD — A Lincolnton courier service pilot died early this morning when he crashed his small plane in a field trying to land at Concord Regional Airport.

Authorities are not releasing the name of the man, estimated to be in his mid-40s. He worked for Corporate Air Fleet of Lincolnton. The company had no comment.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the crash, which occurred shortly after 6 a.m.

The pilot was communicating with Charlotte-Douglas International Airport as he approached Concord Regional, said John Crosby, Concord aviation director.

“He was in contact with Charlotte controllers,”Crosby said. “He never spoke with anybody at Concord.”

Charlotte lost contact with the pilot at about 6:08 a.m. Officials there contacted the Concord airport a few minutes later to ask if the pilot had landed the small plane.

Concord officials put out an alert and began a search. They found the single-engine Piper crashed in a field less than a mile north of the airport.

The pilot, who delivered checks for the courier service, was the only person on board the plane.

The pilot had clipped some power lines and crashed near a tree line in the field on Cessna Drive off Odell School Road. The field lies between some houses and the Vulcan Materials quarry.

The Concord and Odell fire departments, Cabarrus Emergency Management and Cabarrus Emergency Management Services also responded to the crash.

The Federal Aviation Administration may give local aviation officials preliminary findings today, Crosby said. But it will probably take months to determine exactly what caused the crash.