Federal aviation investigators Friday continued the probe into a plane crash that killed a commercial airline pilot from Winterville.

Joshua Brehm, 42, was at the controls about 3:20 p.m. Thursday when his single-engine 1940 Taylorcraft BL-65 went down in a grassy airstrip at South Oaks Aerodrome in Pitt County, authorities said Friday.

He died of multiple injuries including a cervical spine fracture and a traumatic brain injury, officials with the state medical examiner's office said Friday. The manner of death was accidental, officials said.

Brehm was a captain with Southwest Airlines, sheriff's officials said Friday. He held an airline transport pilot certification, the highest credential offered by the Federal Aviation Administration, spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said.

He was certified to fly a Boeing 737, as well as a Hawker Beechcraft 1900 -- a twin-turbo propellor plane, and the regional jet Bombardier CRJ-200, she said.

The residential landing field at 6554 County Home Road just north of N.C. 102 is part of a luxury residential development in southern Pitt County. No homes or other structures were damaged.

Investigators with the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board spent Friday morning examining the crash site. Midday, the plane was removed from the runway and the area reopened.

"Basically we're just going through the wreckage," said Bob Gretz, NTSB senior air safety investigator. "The plane is still relatively intact; it did not burn, so we have a lot of good evidence."

The investigation, expected to take from six months to a year, considers the pilot, the aircraft and environmental factors. A preliminary report is expected within 10 days. So far, nothing appeared out of the ordinary, officials said.

The pilot's plans were not known. Officials said it was possible the pilot went up for a brief pleasure flight.

The NTSB investigates between 1,500-1,600 small-plane crashes annually. Only 10-20 percent are fatal, transportation safety officials said.

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