GRAIN VALLEY (AP) – Authorities say a pilot has been seriously injured in the crash of a small plane at a western Missouri airport.

Grain Valley police said the crash occurred around 2 p.m. Tuesday as the pilot was trying to land the single-engine plane at East Kansas City Airport, about 20 miles east of Kansas City.

The pilot was the only person on board and was taken to a hospital. The plane was heavily damaged.

Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration were heading to the scene to handle the investigation.