CLARK COUNTY, OHIO – A Wilmington man died when his experimental plane crashed in a field in Clark County east of Springfield Sunday afternoon.
The pilot and sole occupant, Jordan A. Spier, 24, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Spier — originally from Fulton, New York — was a maintenance planner at Airborne Maintenance and Engineering Services (AMES) in Wilmington, the company confirmed Monday.
“The Airborne family is saddened to have lost Jordan,” said Debbie Loveless, AMES Director of Human Resources. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.”
A licensed pilot, Spier had completed the Airframe and Powerplant Technology program of Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica New York. His Facebook page also stated, “I’m all about airplanes. Get me in a flying machine and I’m home.”
Investigators say the plane took off from a nearby private airstrip on Titus Road around 4 p.m. FAA records indicate it was a fixed wing, single-engine, experimental amateur-built aircraft, according to WDTN, which reported the plane was registered to Ronald B. Spier of Springfield. The plane went down near Interstate 70 in Harmony Township in Clark County.
It’s unclear what led to the crash; a call was not immediately returned from the Clark County post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, which responded to the accident.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) were on the scene Monday investigating the accident.
