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A pilot received spinal injuries and had to be extricated from his ultralight airplane after it struck a tree in a field he was using as a runway Thursday night in Aquasco, officials said.

The pilot, a man in his 50s, was repeatedly taxiing up and down a field when he lost control and his airplane went up in the air about 30 feet and came abruptly back down, said a Maryland State Police spokeswoman. The plane struck a tree as it landed and trapped the pilot inside, said Mark Brady, a Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department spokesman.

Paramedics were called to the scene by a resident who witnessed the crash, Brady said.

The pilot remained in care today at the Prince George's Hospital Center in Cheverly being evaluated for back and spinal injuries sustained in the crash, Brady said. He did not know the status of the man's condition.

The field the plane was on, located at 15280 Letcher Road in Aquasco, is thought to be the pilot's property, Brady said. Several planes were parked at the grass field Friday.

There were no other passengers in the plane at the time of the crash, and no one else was injured.

Brady said he was not aware of any laws prohibiting the use of a private field as a small airstrip.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.

E-mail Andrea Noble at anoble@gazette.net.