BRADY TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Authorities say a 52-year-old man has died after being struck in the head by a propeller while trying to start a single-engine airplane in southwestern Michigan.

The Kalamazoo County sheriff’s department says Michael Westveer of Vicksburg died following the Monday accident at a private airstrip in Brady Township.

Undersheriff Paul Matyas says investigators believe the man was trying to hand-crank the propeller of his plane when he was struck. Matyas tells the Kalamazoo Gazette he was found in a field near a hangar after he didn’t show up as planned to meet a friend.

They’re investigating and federal transportation authorities are expected to review the case.