EASTON — The pilot killed in a small plane crash Sunday night three miles south of Easton has been identified as a 44-year-old man from Mankato.

Jeffrey Dean Zabel reportedly crashed his plane into a field near the intersection of 480th Avenue and 160th Street at about 7:30 p.m.

Reports stated Zabel was extricated from his experimental air craft by the Easton Fire Department, Easton first responders and Wells ambulance crews. Emergency personnel performed life-saving measures at the scene, but he was pronounced dead near the scene about an hour after the crash, according to a news release.

Zabel was reportedly flying a fixed-wing, single-engine Steen Skybolt, said Tony Molinaro, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration out of Chicago.

The registered owner was listed as Construction Engineering Services LLC., of Mankato, according to the FAA.

The National Transportation Safety Board, the FAA and the Faribault County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the crash today.

Molinaro said the NTSB will release findings of the investigation, with a preliminary report likely to come in a few weeks.

He said the the cause of the crash was listed as unknown circumstances as of Monday afternoon.

Look to the Tribune for more information as it becomes available.