By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

The pilot of a small single-engine aircraft was transported by ambulance to UAB Hospital with non life-threatening injuries after his plane crashed near an Alabaster neighborhood on New Year’s Day.

The Alabaster Fire Department responded to a call of a downed plane in the 900 block of 10th StreetSouthwest at about 2 p.m. on Jan. 1, said Alabaster Fire Chief Jim Golden. The plane was en route to the Shelby County Airport from the Bessemer Airport when it crashed.

Golden said the pilot was the only person on board the airplane, which crashed in the woods behind a residence. The pilot was “conscious and alert” when he was transported to the hospital, and no other individuals were injured in the crash, Golden said.

As of about 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 1, the Alabaster fire and police departments were still on the scene, and were awaiting Federal Aviation Administration representatives to arrive on the scene.