Cessna 180 Found Following Extensive Search

A wreckage of a Cessna 180 reported missing in Daviess County, MO has been located, and local officials have confirmed that the pilot of the airplane was fatally injured in the accident.

The Daviess County Sheriff's Department confirmed Tuesday that the wreckage of the airplane was discovered and secured at 9:30 a.m. local time Tuesday. The wreckage was found in an area that was described as rugged and difficult to access. "It was found in the northern part of the county,” said Jim Boothe, emergency management director of Gentry County.

The pilot of the airplane is believe to be 54-year-old Kenny Stoner, according to the St. Joseph, MO News-Press newspaper. He departed from Northwest Missouri Regional Airport in Maryville about 4:00 p.m. Sunday, and had filed a flight plan listing a destination of Bethany in Harrison County, MO. The search was initiated when he was reported overdue.

Officials said that the wreckage of the airplane was all in one place, suggesting that the plane did not break up in flight.

The pilot was reportedly the sole occupant of the airplane.

(Image from file. Not accident airplane)

FMI: www.ntsb.gov