BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (AP) — Authorities say the pilot of a small plane has died after a crash at a southwestern Michigan airport.

The plane crashed Thursday evening at Battle Creek’s W.K. Kellogg Airport, killing 48-year-old William Pergerson II. He was the lone occupant.

Pergerson was an elder and preached for Harbor of Hope Church in Benton Harbor and worked as director of the 1888 Study Committee in Berrien Springs, according to WSBT.

Officials say he took off from the airport, began experiencing difficulty and tried to land the plane. On the second landing attempt, the plane crashed into a grassy field near a runway.

Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the cause of the crash.