Plane Crashes At Lake Of The Ozarks, Pilot Arrested [PHOTOS]

CAMDEN COUNTY, Mo. — A plane crashed in Camdenton just before dawn on Sunday morning, leaving the pilot with minor injuries.

Scanner audio reveals local authorities were contacted about a plane with an allegedly intoxicated pilot flying in the area of Camdenton Memorial-Lake Regional Airport (KOZS).

Based on dispatch conversation, flight path information from Google FlightAware, and Federal Aviation Administration N-number registration information, the plane, a 1965 Piper PA-28 Cherokee, is registered to Joshua Strouse, of Columbia, Mo. However, authorities would not confirm on Sunday whether Strouse was definitively the pilot.

Camden County Sheriff Deputies and Camdenton City Police Officers tried to follow the plane’s trajectory, using visual contact as well as an online flight-tracker. However, dispatch informed law enforcement that the pilot had allegedly been turning his red-and-green navigation lights off and back on. They also relayed information from another agency that reported the pilot had been suicidal.

The plane continued on an erratic route, according to dispatch conversation and FlightAware, with law enforcement alerting other regional airports that it might be headed in their direction. However, dispatch had been informed by the FAA that the pilot reported he only had about 50 minutes of fuel left, at around 5 a.m.

It crash-landed into a grove of trees just northwest of Camdenton’s airport at around 5:35 a.m.

Authorities spent about an hour searching for the plane and pilot, even launching a drone to survey the area, scanner conversation revealed.

The pilot, who reportedly had a broken nose from the crash but was not seriously injured, ultimately called 911 and told them he was in the parking lot of a business north of the airport, according to dispatch audio. That’s where authorities found and detained the pilot at around 6:39 a.m., after which he was taken to medical treatment.

Camden County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Scott Hines confirmed the FAA is investigating the incident. The Camden County Sheriff's Office would not release the pilot's identity on Sunday, pending potential charges.

LakeExpo will update this story as it develops.

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