LONDON, Ohio (AP) — State troopers say a single-engine plane attempting to land at a county airport in Ohio has crashed and the pilot has died.

The State Highway Patrol says 79-year-old Donald Apple, of Piqua (PIHK’-wah), was pronounced dead at the crash in a field just west of the Madison County Airport.

A patrol release says the single-engine Beechcraft crashed around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday as it was approaching a landing strip at the airport near London, which is roughly 30 miles southwest of Columbus.

The airport was closed to flights Wednesday morning while the investigation continued. Airport officials said it was expected to reopen later in the day.

The cause of the crash wasn’t known. The patrol says the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Traffic Safety Board are investigating.