The pilot of a small plane is dead after his plane stalled in mid-air and crashed into a soybean field near the Stoney Creek airport Friday morning.

Emergency crews first rushed to the scene of the crash in a field off of 6th Road and Mud Street just after 7 a.m.

Hamilton police Const. Steve Welton told CBC News that the pilot suffered "critical injuries" and has died. Next of kin have been notified.

A photo of the type of plane involved in the crash on Friday, a Bede BD-4, posted under a Creative Commons license. (Armchair Aviator/Flickr)

Investigators haven't released the pilot's name. Don Enns, the regional manager of the Ontario office of the Transportation Safety Board (TSB), told CBC News that pilot error contributed to the crash. "Handling technique is definitely part of it," Enns said.

The plane was an amateur-built Bede BD-4, originally built in 1972. The BD-4 is a common model of "home-built" aircraft and was one of the first planes that could be assembled from a kit.

According to an online database, the plane has been registered to a Hamilton owner since 1986, but the TSB says the pilot recently purchased the plane.

Company 'asked not to comment'

Enns said that the plane had taken off from the Stoney Creek airport and was heading to St. Thomas when it stalled and slammed into the ground. "Slow speed typically leads into something like that," he said.

Investigators haven't been able to identify any malfunction or pieces missing from the plane, but much of it has been destroyed because of the crash and subsequent fire. "There is significant damage from the post-crash fire," Enns said. That fire was quickly doused by firefighters Friday morning.

The Stoney Creek airport is home to the local chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association, chapter 65.

The club's website says it's primarily focused on home-built and experimental aircraft but many of its members fly "certified aircraft built by major manufacturers."

The pilot involved in the crash was not a member of the club, said Marcus Pfeiffer, who runs the club's website.

"Our condolences also go out to his family," Pfeiffer said.

The wreck is sitting in a field next to Heli-Lynx Helicopters. When reached by phone, a representative from the company said they have been "asked not to comment."

There were witnesses to the crash, Welton said, and investigators will be speaking to them.

Bryce Fisher, an aviation consultant who used to work as an investigator with the TSB, said its investigators will be trying to find out if the aircraft was certified, how it was built, and if the pilot was properly qualified to fly it.

From looking at photos of the crash, Fisher said it looks like the pilot hit the ground in an almost straight vertical fashion because of the compact way the debris was lying in the field.

Are amateur-built planes safe?

Fisher told CBC News that he has flown both amateur-built and "ultralight" airplanes before — and whether or not they are safe "depends on who you talk to."

"You have to respect the limitations of the aircraft," Fisher said. "You have to fly it within certain parameters or you're asking for trouble."

Fire information officer Claudio Mostacci said one fire truck was also called to the scene to douse a fire that broke out just after the crash.

"When we arrived on scene there was a small fire that was quickly extinguished," Mostacci said.

adam.carter@cbc.ca