MIDWAY – The identity of a Bertie County man who was critically injured in a plane crash Friday has been confirmed.

The man who was piloting the small, two-seater airplane when it crashed near here Friday is Michael Taylor of Merry Hill, according to Bertie County Sheriff John Holley.

The plane reportedly nosedived into an open field south of the U.S. 17/N.C. 45 intersection. Taylor was trapped inside and had to be extricated before being airlifted to Pitt County Memorial Hospital.

Sheriff Holley said Monday that Taylor remains in critical condition at the hospital.

The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the cause of the crash.