Texas County sheriff identifies Springfield pilot killed in plane crash

A Springfield pilot was killed when the plane he was flying crashed in rural Texas County.

The crash happened on private land, about a mile or two north of Summersville, just a couple hundred yards away from Highway 17.

The NTSB and FAA are on their way to this crash scene to investigate what caused this plane to crash.

The 911 call came in just after 7:15 Wednesday morning.

Texas County Sheriff Scott Lindsey says the pilot, 64-year-old Robert Torp, was found dead inside the plane.

He says Torp is not the plane's registered owner.

He say the plane is registered to an owner in Newport, Virginia.

There appears to be impact with the trees. No fire or fuel spill located on the scene," Lindsey said.

Jan Harper lives on the land where the plane crashed.

"We were up off and on and I didn't hear anything but you know the house is sealed up and the furnace was running. I just don't know how much noise it would have actually made," Harper added.

She says she's thankful the plane didn't crash into nearby homes or on the highway.

"I look around and there's five close houses," Harper exclaimed. He crashed right between all these houses and I thank God nobody else was hurt."

Nevertheless, it's a day she will never forget.

"I feel so bad for his family because he was somebody's son, father and maybe husband."

The plane is a 1963 single-engine Piper Cherokee plane

It's unclear when the crash actually happened and which airport the plane flew out of.