OLDMANS TWP. -- An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board is being conducted to determine what caused a small plane to crash Friday afternoon after it took off from the Spitfire Aerodrome and came down 200 yards away in a farm field.

As reported by the Woodstown State Police, Hugh Hunton, of Keithsville, La., and Jon Norwood, of Damon, Texas, left in their Cessna 177 Cardinal from the air field intending to fly to Houston. After only being in the air for about 200 yards after takeoff, the pilots noticed the aircraft was losing power.
 
With the plane stalling out over Interstate 295, Hunton steered the aircraft to an asparagus field behind H. Gene Perry and Son's farm and performed a crash landing.

Neither pilot was injured in the crash and both denied to comment on the incident until the Federal Aviation Administration conducted an investigation.

Representatives from the Philadelphia Flight Standards of the FAA came to the scene after local emergency response vehicles had dispersed. The representatives determined the crash was under the jurisdiction of the NTSB.

Dennis Diaz of the NTSB on Monday confirmed there is an ongoing investigation, but little is known at this point in time. Factors such as the pilots, weather issues, the plane's mechanics, and the Spitfire Aerodrome air traffic controllers will be investigated to find what caused the crash.

A preliminary report of the crash will likely be available in about 10 days, Diaz said.

Jack Fetsko, owner of the Spitfire Aerodrome, agreed with Diaz and said a conclusion on the crash could not be made until the NTSB completed the entire investigation.

"Until the entire testing and investigation is conducted, you really don't know what happened," he said. "But really, the important thing is nobody was hurt."