Police in Franklin Township have identified the man killed in a plane crash near the Downstown Airport.

According to police, Gerard Asselta, 64, of Vineland, died Monday after crashing a single engine plane into the woods in the area of Tuckahoe Road and Harding Highway.

Police were dispatched to the area Monday around 12:54 p.m. for a report of a downed aircraft. Police arrived and located the aircraft that had crashed into a wooded area around 1/4 of a mile north of the intersection. Police were able to locate the pilot underneath the aircraft, but he was pronounced dead on the scene.

The aircraft was reported to have taken off in the area of Union Road at a private residence in Vineland.

Witnesses reported seeing the aircraft in the area of Downstown Airport before crashing into the wooded area, but it is unknown if the aircraft was trying to land at the airport.