WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A pilot killed when his twin-engine Cessna 310 plummeted into a Wichita neighborhood has been identified as a former Cessna engineer who owned an aviation company in Colorado.

KSNW-TV reports Wichita Fire Chief Ron Blackwell on Saturday identified the pilot as 47-year-old Aaron Waters of Parker, Colorado.

Family members say he was the owner and president of Aircraft Certification and Systems Engineering, based in Parker.

Waters’ twin-engine airplane crashed soon after takeoff on Friday afternoon, just moments after he radioed that he needed to return to the airport and then quickly issued an emergency call.

Blackwell says Waters likely died a hero because he was able to steer the aircraft away from homes in the area and crashed into some woods near Cowskin Creek.

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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A twin-engine Cessna 310 crashed near a west Wichita neighborhood Friday killing the pilot Aaron Waters, Parker, CO.

Wichita Fire Chief Ron Blackwell says the plane crashed about 4 p.m. in a wooded area behind some homes.

Blackwell says the pilot was the only person on board the plane. He says there was no fire at the crash site and no homes in the area were seriously damaged.

The pilot had taken off from a Wichita airport and then radioed that the plane was experiencing problems. Blackwell says the pilot was told to return to the airport and that is when the plane went down.

The fire chief says the investigation is continuing. The pilot’s identity has not been released. According to tracking site Flightaware.com, it was headed to Centennial Airport in Denver.

 

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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A twin-engine Cessna 310 crashed near a west Wichita neighborhood Friday, killing the pilot.

Wichita Fire Chief Ron Blackwell says the plane crashed about 4 p.m. in a wooded area behind some homes.

Blackwell says the pilot was the only person on board the plane. He says there was no fire at the crash site and no homes in the area were seriously damaged.

The pilot had taken off from a Wichita airport and then radioed that the plane was experiencing problems. Blackwell says the pilot was told to return to the airport and that is when the plane went down.

The fire chief says the investigation is continuing. The pilot’s identity and the flight plan of the plane were not immediately available.