BETHEL ACRES, Okla. (AP) — The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says the pilot of a plane that crashed while searching for a suspect is in serious but stable condition at a hospital.
The highway patrol on Saturday identified the pilot as Trooper Dennis Dickens.
The agency says Dickens is a veteran pilot with "many years' service" flying for the patrol.
Dickens was airlifted to an Oklahoma City hospital after being pulled from the burning wreckage of the plane, which went down at 7 p.m. Friday in Pottawatomie County.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the circumstances of the crash.
The OHP says the suspect in the Friday search, 50-year-old Brent McKenzie of Shawnee, was caught and charged with DUI, leaving the scene of an accident and other counts.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.