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ENFIELD, NY -- A homebuilt ultralight aircraft crashed Thursday afternoon at a rural airfield off Route 79 in Enfield, killing the pilot, authorities said.

The pilot, Gordon Arquit, 79, of Cayuga Heights, was flying a gyrocopter, an open-cockpit hobby craft that resembles a helicopter, according to the Tompkins County Sheriff's Office.

"It's just unfortunate because he was really a nice gentleman," said Raymond VanDeMark, owner of the airfield where the crash occurred.

VanDeMark said that Arquit began coming to the field in intervals a month or two ago to learn how to fly the gyrocopter. The field consists of a gray, green and red hangar and a long grassy clearing between two lines of trees.

"He had a lot of flying experience but it's a whole different set of skills," VanDeMark said. "He would rise up 10, 12 feet and land. He's been doing it quite a while. Somehow he didn't make the landing."

VanDeMark discovered the aircraft had crashed around 4 p.m. Thursday when he didn't hear the engine and went out to look for it.

Enfield volunteer firefighters responded to the scene, which was set well back from Route 79. Only the white and blue tail of the craft was visible from the road.

By 5:30 p.m. most of the firefighters had dispersed, turning the area over to the Tompkins County Sheriff's Office.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the crash.