National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) officials said Thursday the pilot who was killed in a small plane crash was a veteran flyer.

Witnesses say the plane looked like it was struggling to stay in the air before crashing in a wooded area near Shenandoah Road Wednesday. No one on the ground was hurt, but the pilot, Eugene Pilot, was killed in the crash. Howell Township's mayor says there was no one else on board.

Family members say Pilot had 30 years of flying experience and over 1,000 hours in the air. The NTSB says Pilot took off from Farmingdale airport on Long Island and was headed back to that location when something went wrong. NTSB officials say the 70-year-old grandfather was killed shortly after calling into McGuire Air Force Base.

Meanwhile, NTSB and Federal Aviation Administration officials are looking into what caused the accident.

Related Information:Small plane crashes in Howell Township