Dispatchers received multiple 911 calls reporting a plane crash near Interstate 69 and Kentucky Highway 131 at 2:08 p.m. Emergency crews arriving at the scene found the aircraft on fire in a field off Spence Chapel Road.

The pilot, whose name has not been released, was the only person aboard the plane, an L-39 Albatros, a Czech-built jet trainer widely used by civilian aerobatic pilots.

According to the sheriff's office, the pilot and his daughter, both from Wisconsin, were returning home from an airshow in Mississippi and had stopped at the Mayfield airport to refuel. The daughter was flying a separate L-39 Albatros.

Shortly after takeoff, the pilot radioed that he was experiencing a problem and was returning to the airport. The aircraft went down moments later. The second plane returned to the airport and landed safely.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have been notified and are investigating. The NTSB typically takes the lead on such investigations and issues a preliminary report within weeks, with a final probable cause determination often taking a year or more.

The crash occurred in a rural stretch of Graves County near the interchange of I-69 and KY 131, an area of farmland and scattered homes roughly 25 miles west of Murray. The airport serves general aviation and is a common refueling stop for pilots traveling between the Midwest and the South.

The L-39 Albatros, first produced in the 1970s, is a two-seat jet trainer that has become popular in the civilian airshow community in recent years. The aircraft involved in Sunday's crash was one of two traveling together.

No injuries were reported on the ground, and no structures were damaged, authorities said. The sheriff's office did not release additional details about the pilot's identity pending notification of family members.