Pilot injured in small plane crash in Moore County

Roland Gilliam, owner of Gilliam McConnell Airfield in Carthage, said Keith Cox and two friends flew into the Pik N Pig at the airstrip for lunch and had just left when Cox reported trouble on his radio.

Gilliam said Cox radioed that his wings were shaking and he couldn't control his plane.

Frank Staples, safety officer of the Circle V Fire Department in Vass, said Cox, of Hope Mills, was alone in the plane when it went down off Morganton Road just after 2:30 p.m.

Witnesses said it sounded like the plane was having engine trouble before it spiraled into the woods. Gilliam said Cox tried to land on a nearby road.

After seeing the wreckage of Cox's plane, Sgt. Andy Conway of the Moore County Sheriff's Office said, "It's amazing he's alive. It really is."

Cox was alert and talking when rescuers reached him. He was listed in serious condition Monday morning at UNC Hospital.

FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the plan, with tail number N838B, was a Replica P51 Mustang Plane.

investigators were on the scene of the crash trying to determine the cause of the crash.