PLYMOUTH, Conn. (AP) — Fire officials say a man has been hospitalized with serious head and internal injuries after a small plane he was flying crashed into a wooded area in Plymouth near Waterbury Airport.

Terryville Fire Chief Mark Sekorski says the man was the sole occupant of the single-engine, experimental plane, which crashed around 5 p.m. Thursday.

The man, who hasn't been publicly identified, had to be removed from the aircraft and was airlifted to a hospital in Hartford. His condition wasn't immediately clear.

Greg Gubitosi, who works in the area, says the plane had been circling around a pond when he heard the engine cut out several times. He says the plane then crashed a few hundred yards away.

Firefighters say fuel leaked from the plane.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating.