WASHINGTON COUNTY, IL — A Mt. Vernon man has died after the helicopter he was piloting Monday crashed in a field southwest of Nashville.

The Washington County Coroner’s Office says around 2pm Monday, their office was dispatched to the scene of a helicopter crash in a remote agricultural area north of the Oakdale Blacktop and west of Garfield Road. The pilot, 41-year-old Donald L. Pruett, was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:22 p.m. by Washington County Coroner Mark Styninger. The helicopter was a crop-dusting aircraft owned by Kash Helicopter Company and Pruett was the sole occupant. The wreckage was found in a cornfield approximately half a mile from the roadway and under overhead power lines. It is unclear if the aircraft struck the power lines. The Federal Aviation Agency was called to the scene to investigate.

Cause of death appears to be blunt force trauma, but an autopsy will be scheduled in O’Fallon. No further information will be available at this time.