Kentucky State Police have identified the pilot who was killed when his small, experimental plane crashed in rural western Kentucky.

Fifty-two-year-old Michael Davis, of Pleasant View, Tenn., was pronounced dead on Christmas Day by the Calloway County Coroner.

According to police, he took off from Leitchfield, Ky., that afternoon en route to Union City, Tenn.

Police said the aircraft topped several trees before crashing in a side yard of a residence northeast of Murray.

Federal Aviation Administration officials were expected to arrive at the scene on Saturday to investigate the cause of the crash.