A single-engine airplane crashed while trying to land at Yeager Airport late Wednesday night.

The plane crashed around 11:25 p.m., according to a supervisor at Kanawha County Metro 911.

The pilot, a local man, was injured in the crash but was refusing transport to a hospital, Airport Director Terry Sayre said shortly after midnight. No one else was on the plane.

Airport officials would not release the pilot's name. According to the Federal Aviation Administration website, the plane is registered to Ralph S. Smith Jr. of Charleston. The plane is a Cessna 182J, a 1966 four-seat model, according to the website.

The plane "dramatically undershot the runway" and made "a hard deck landing," according to Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper. He lauded the "significant response" of first responders to the crash.

The plane lost its nose gear in the crash, Sayre said, and came to rest at a 45-degree angle halfway into the EMAS safety system designed to catch planes that leave the runway.

"The EMAS, once again, has proven its ability to save lives," Carper said. "It took a remarkable effort to repair the airfield, and it got done just in time."

The airport's previous EMAS system was damaged when part of the hillside under it collapsed in March 2015. Repairs were finished last month.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

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