By Megan Guza, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A pilot missing since Wednesday night was found dead Thursday morning in his crashed ultralight aircraft in Western Pennsylvania, police said.

Pennsylvania State Police said 75-year-old David Wittmer was “practicing touch-and-go landings” in a field near Church Street in Young Township in Indiana County. He reportedly took off sometime between 6 and 6:30 p.m. and never returned.

Authorities said a member of PSP’s Aviation Patrol Unit found the Altoona man’s aircraft about 10:30 a.m. Thursday, crashed in a corn field along Coal Run Road in Young Township. His truck was found near the field, authorities said, and his phone was in a nearby camper that he’d been using.

Authorities initially theorized the Wittmer and his ultralight were “likely to be f

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