The pilot of a small plane was killed Thursday when he crashed after clipping a power southeast of Underwood, said Sgt. Kyle Kirchmeier of the North Dakota Highway Patrol.

William Beeks, 65, had been spraying a sunflower field with insecticide about five miles southeast of the McLean County town. He made a pass over the field, flying north, then flew under a set of high-intensity power lines, Kirchmeier said. The pilot banked the plane to the left, beginning a wide turn to make another pass over the field. Beeks, who had 50 years of flying experience and was the manager of Washburn Airport, apparently misjudged his proximity to the power lines, and hit one with the plane's right wing, Kirchmeier said.

The power line sheared off part of the wing, causing Beeks to lose control. The 1967 single-engine Piper went into a spin and crashed upside down, sliding to a rest in a bean field. Beeks was killed on impact, Kirchmeier said. Weather was not a factor, and there is no indication of a problem with the plane, according to a preliminary investigation.

While most pilots log airtime in hours, Beeks could have measured his in years. Beeks' father, Clifford Beeks, owned Central Flying Services in Washburn and was inducted into the North Dakota Aviation Hall of Fame.

Naturally, William Beeks made his first flight as a child and earned his pilot's license at the age of 16, said his wife, Mary Ann Beeks.

After high school, Beeks went to college, then spent three years as an industrial arts teacher. He missed flying, though, and moved back to Washburn to work at his father's business repairing planes, flying them and teaching others to fly them.

"He came back to his first love," Mary Ann Beeks said. "He enjoyed flying. He enjoyed getting people involved in flying."

Beeks was well-known in Washburn and among North Dakota pilots, said Gary Ness, the North Dakota Director of Aeronautics and a close friend of Beeks.

"He was a leader in the community and just a real good guy,"Ness said. "He's going to be missed."

Beeks often lobbied on behalf of the flying industry, and legislators knew him as "Bill," Ness said.

Ness said the news of the death came as a shock, but pilots know that there is a risk every time they get in the cockpit. Mary Ann Beeks was aware of that risk, too, and said she often worried about her husband.

"I wouldn't be a pilot's wife if I didn't," she said. "When he didn't come back (Thursday afternoon), I knew it was a bad sign."

The crash is still under review by the National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates all aviation accidents involving a fatality.

A funeral service is planned for 10:30 a.m. Aug. 8. It will be held at the First Lutheran Church in Washburn.