Pilot heading home from air show dies in western Kentucky jet crash

A pilot was killed Sunday afternoon when a military-style jet crashed in a field near Mayfield Graves County Airport, according to the Graves County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies received 911 calls around 2 p.m. reporting a downed plane near I-69 and KY Highway 131. First responders located the wreckage in a field off Spence Chapel Road.

The aircraft was an L-39 Albatros, described as an older military-style jet. The pilot was the plane’s sole occupant and died in the crash.

The pilot and his daughter, both from Wisconsin, had been returning from an air show in Mississippi and had stopped at the airport to refuel. The daughter was flying a second L-39 Albatros.

The pilot has been identified as 70-year-old James Alan Michaels of Dousman, Wisconsin. After takeoff, Michaels reported returning to the airport due to issues with the aircraft; the aircraft went down shortly afterward.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board have been notified and are responding to the crash. The cause of the crash and the pilot’s identity had not been released at the time of the report.