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A Tallahatchie County airplane pilot was killed Friday afternoon when an agricultural plane crashed into a farm field just north of Glendora, according to Tallahatchie County Sheriff Jimmy Fly.

The sheriff has identified the victim, who was pronounced dead at the scene, as Billy Ray Kent, 70, of 402 Cassidy St., Sumner.

Mr. Kent was said to be the chief pilot at Snow Brake Air Service Inc. near Webb, where he reportedly had worked since January 1985.

Tallahatchie County Coroner Ginger Meriwether said an autopsy would be conducted at the Mississippi Forensics Laboratory in Pearl for an official ruling on Mr. Kent's cause of death. She said the examination should help to determine whether a medical emergency could have contributed to the crash.

Meriwether said Meredith-Nowell Funeral Home in Clarksdale will be in charge of Mr. Kent's arrangements.

The crop duster that Mr. Kent was piloting had gone missing for several hours about midday Friday, prompting an aerial search, Fly said.

A pilot in one of the planes involved in the search spotted the wreckage at about 3:20 p.m., the sheriff noted.

He said the crash site was in a cornfield approximately a half-mile east of Highway 49.

Fly noted that the Tallahatchie County Emergency Management Agency and Sumner Volunteer Fire Department joined the Tallahatchie County Sheriff's Office in responding to the scene. He said there was no fire and that firefighters just provided assistance.

The sheriff said investigators from both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were due at the site Saturday.

Fly, who expressed appreciation "to everyone who helped and responded to this accident," said his thoughts and prayers are with the family.

"[Mr. Kent] had a lot of friends who were there to help, and everyone talked about what a great pilot he was and all of the flight hours and experience he had," the sheriff noted.  "I just hope the family can find some peace and comfort during this difficult time."

Meriwether said this kind of "terrible accident" is not often seen, sending "many prayers for Mr. Kent's family and friends."

In the last such local incident, a 28-year-old Schlater pilot was killed Aug. 16, 2017, when his crop duster crashed in southwestern Tallahatchie County, near the Tallahatchie-Leflore county line.

This story has been updated to add the victim's name and information, and quotes from the sheriff and coroner.

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