A Pinehurst man walked away from a plane crash in Ohio Tuesday after his single-engine aircraft ran out of fuel.

Robert E. Carpenter Jr., 56, was the pilot and only passenger of the 1970 Thorp T18. It crashed at 11:14 a.m. after an attempted emergency landing in a wooded area outside of Edinburg in Portage County, according to the Ohio Highway Patrol.

Carpenter, who lives in a home on Lake Forest Drive in Pinehurst, walked to a nearby farmhouse to ask for help. The Pilot was unable to reach him for an interview Thursday.

The owner of the home, Sarah Powell, told a local television news crew that she heard a loud noise and then Carpenter knocked on her door and said he'd "run out of gas."

Edinburg Township Fire and Rescue took Carpenter to Robinson Memorial Hospital in Ravenna where he was treated and released later that afternoon.

Carpenter's plane left the Moore County Airport shortly after 8 a.m. Tuesday and was headed to the Portage County Airport in Shalersville. The plane crashed about seven miles short.

Carpenter told the Ohio Highway Patrol that he first lost engine power. After about a minute, he lost all power. He attempted to land the plane in an open field, but struck the top of several trees and the plane crashed to the ground.

"It happens," said Ron Maness, executive director of the Moore County Airport. "It can be a variety of things. Normally it's a pilot trying to stretch his fuel, but it can also have to do with weather conditions or you can have a route change. ... It also could be an error in readings. There is no way to tell."

Maness said he didn't know much about the crash. He said Carpenter was a customer at the Moore County Airport, but that he didn't know him.

"I saw some pictures of the wreckage," Maness said, "and he is very, very fortunate."

Carpenter is a former Portage County resident. He had been traveling to visit relatives.

The crash remains under investigation by the Ohio Highway Patrol, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation and Safety Board.

Matthew Moriarty may be reached at 693-2479 or by e-mail at moriarty@thepilot.com.