Pilot dead after crop duster crashes near Oxford

One person was killed after a crop duster crashed in a field southwest of the town of Oxford, Benton County Coroner Matt Rosenberger said Tuesday.

Originally reported down about 6:45 p.m. Monday, the plane has been identified as a single-engine crop duster that crashed while working near County Road 200 East.

The autopsy of the pilot, who has yet to be identified, is scheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday. Rosenberger said officials hope to identify the pilot through the autopsy.

This is the second plane crash in the area in recent months, after 20-year-old Purdue student Alexander Foss was killed when his Purdue Aviation-owned plane went down outside the town of Otterbein.

Foss’ death was ruled a suicide, but it is unclear what caused Monday's crop duster crash.

County Roads 700 and 800 will remain closed while the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration investigate the wreckage.

The Benton County Coroner's Office is expected to release their report later on in the day.