A small plane crashed in rural Paulding County at about 3:30 Friday afternoon, severely injuring the pilot. The crash site was near the Village of Charloe, approximately 9 miles southeast of Paulding in Brown Township.

Early reports indicated that the small plan had taken off from a private grass runway moments before it crashed a few hundred feet away.

The pilot has been identified as 35 year old Dustin Dobbelaere of Defiance, Ohio and was the only occupant of the plane, who was transported by air-ambulance to a Fort Wayne Hospital. His condition is unknown at this time.

The Federal Aviation Administration as well as the NTSB have joined the Paulding County Sheriff in determining the cause of the crash.