Experimental plane makes hard landing; pilot escapes injury

HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP, N.J. – Authorities say a pilot escaped injury when his experimental aircraft made a hard landing in a New Jersey soybean field.

The pilot was the only person aboard the single-engine Aerotrike Safari plane when it went down around noon Sunday in Hopewell Township. His name has not been disclosed.

State police responded to the scene and spoke to the pilot, who got out of the plane by himself and was walking around. The extent of damage to the aircraft wasn’t immediately clear.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating.