A homebuilt plane made a crash landing near Leesburg Executive Airport about 9:20 a.m. Saturday, Virginia State Police said.
The pilot was not injured in the crash.
His plane was described as a Sonex plane, an aircraft that can be built from a kit.
The pilot, a 53-year-old man from Goldendale, Washington, took off Saturday morning from Leesburg on his way to Georgia, Virginia State Police said. About an hour into the flight, the rainy weather began to get worse, so the pilot turned the plane around to return to Leesburg, police said.
As he approached the airport, he began to have engine trouble and landed the aircraft in a field in the 19000 block of Sycolin Road, according to police.
A witness said on Twitter the plane ended up in the field beside a nearby church. According to the FAA registry, the plane was certified on March 10.
The Federal Aviation Administration was notified, and the cause of the crash is under investigation.
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Sycolin Road was temporarily closed near the Leesburg Executive Airport, but has since reopened.
