Gas Cap may have Caused E. Idaho Plane Crash

BLACKFOOT, Idaho (AP) — A small airplane crashed while making an emergency landing in a grain field in southwestern Idaho. The pilot escaped serious injury. Bingham County Sheriff Craig Rowland tells the Idaho State Journal that the crash happened shortly before dark Tuesday near Blackfoot.

His office learned about it Wednesday morning. Rowland says 34-year-old pilot Ryan Blaser took off from the airport in Blackfoot and tried to make an emergency landing after the airplane lost power.

Rowland says it appears someone left the cap off the plane's gas tank. He says that can cause the gas to be syphoned out into the air and the plane may have run out of fuel. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.