STATESVILLE, N.C. – A plane crashed in Rowan County on April 22, killing the pilot who was the only person on board.

Pilot, Guy Maher, left the Statesville Airport bound for Mocksville at 9 a.m. on April 22.

He was expected to be there in around 15 minutes.

The wreckage was found around 5 p.m.

The NTSB says the plane took off from Statesville Airport around 9 a.m. that Monday and was heading for Twin Lakes Airport in Davie County, but never showed up to its destination.

The plane, an experimental, amateur-built Wheeler Express Series 2000, N625J, crashed near Cool Springs Road in Rowan County, sometime shortly after.

The owner of the plane authorized another person to fly it to Twin Lakes to pick him up. It's normally a 15-minute flight.

When the pilot never showed up the owner became concerned and contacted the authorities.

Around 1 p.m. the FAA sent out an alert for the missing plane.

Firefighters found the wreckage around 5 p.m. in a wooded field off Cool Springs Road.

The pilot has been identified as Guy Maher, a longtime pilot for AirCare Wake Forest Baptist Health.

Rowan County Fire Marshal Deborah Horne says Maher was well known in the area.

"Very popular in the community. Played the organ at the local church. The firefighters that came and found the wreckage went to church with him. It's a very sad day in the Cleveland and Woodleaf areas," she said.

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The FAA and the NTSB are investigating.