The plane crashed in the woods along the Hilmonkoskentie road in the municipality of Kannonkoski, roughly 80km north of Jyvaskyla. The small plane crashed after taking off from an amateur aviation airfield,

according to rescue services. The pilot of a small plane that crashed in Central Finland on Thursday evening has died, according to local police. The pilot was flying solo. Authorities are investigating the

cause of death and have not released further information about the matter. Central Finland rescue services received a report about the accident around 8:40pm Thursday. The plane crashed in the woods along the Hilmonkoskentie road in the municipality of Kannonkoski, roughly 80km north of the regional capital, Jyvaskyla. It remained unclear on Friday why the plane went down, according to rescue services. A rescue service

representative told an Yle reporter at the scene that the small plane had taken off from an amateur aviation airfield before crashing. The Safety Investigation Authority said a decision will be made whether an investigation needs to be launched in the incident. According to news agency STT, the safety authority Otkes said on Friday that it had started an on-site investigation at the accident site. It said the aircraft was a Piper Cherokee 180. According to local resident Helge Leppanen, a rescue helicopter landed at the nearby airfield after the accident and departed shortly before 10pm. The rescue service's on-duty fire chief, Markus Moilanen, told Yle on Thursday that the pilot was unconscious upon being rescued from the plane and transported to hospital for treatment. Police announced the pilot's death on Friday afternoon.