The Monarch Fire Department rescued a pilot from a crashed plane that was reported out of the Spirit of St. Louis airport in Chesterfield, Missouri.
A spokesperson for the fire department said the single-engine Cessna C-172 was found near Rombachs Farm at the 18000 block Olive Street Rd and they were able to rescue the pilot without the use of a medical helicopter.
Additional search crews from neighboring departments assisted in the near-two-hour search using boats, search helicopters and GPS. An assisting department said they were in contact with the pilot and he was alive. They believed he was near Howell Island Conservation Area before the plane was located near Rombachs Farm.
The spokesperson said the pilot called his wife after the crash and told her to call 911.
The pilot was taken to the hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries. He has been ID'd as 70-year-old Ramakrishna Vallurupalli of Chesterfield.
The cause of the crash is still unknown. The FAA has begun an investigation which is expected to take several weeks to complete.
