BUSHTON, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a Kansas pilot has been hurt in a small plane crash in central Kansas.

Kansas Highway Patrol Master Trooper Dave Jacobs says 51-year-old Bradley Fitchett, of Ellsworth, was using a small agricultural aircraft to spray pesticide on a field south of Bushton on Thursday when the plane developed an engine problem. Fitchett attempted to make an emergency landing when the plane flipped.

The pilot was transported to Great Bend hospital and then transferred to a Wichita hospital.

Jacobs says Fitchett was wearing a helmet that was crushed in two places. Jacobs says it saved Fitchett from a more serious head injury.

The accident is under investigation.