By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

The Federal Aviation Administration is still investigating a New Year’s Day plane crash in Alabaster’s Thompson Plantation neighborhood, according to FAA records.

The plane, which was en route from the Bessemer Airport to the Shelby County Airport on Jan. 1, crashed at about 2 p.m., missing a residence on 10^th Street Southwest by only a few feet. The crash site also was atop a steep ridge leading down to Buck Creek.

According to FAA preliminary crash data, the plane involved was a Bellanca 1730 single-engine aircraft registered to a Pleasant Grove man. The preliminary incident report categorized the crash as an accident causing “substantial” damage, and listed the plane’s flight phase as “unknown.”

Alabaster Fire Chief Jim Golden said the pilot removed himself from the downed aircraft and was conscious and alert when emergency responders arrived on the scene. The pilot was transported by ambulance to UAB Hospital to be treated for non life-threatening injuries.

The plane was traveling from the Bessemer Airport to the Shelby County Airport, which is a few miles southeast of the crash site, when it crashed. The homeowners at the crash site were not home when the crash happened, and were on their way home from out of town, Golden said.

As of Jan. 13, FAA records had not been updated since the preliminary crash data had been published on Jan. 2, and no information from the crash was listed with the National Transportation Safety Board. The NTSB publishes reports on plane crashes indicating probable cause and other flight information.