BAGDAD, Ariz. -- The mystery of a missing pilot whose downed plane was discovered Sunday near the Bagdad Airport has been solved.

The pilot was identified as 56-year-old Raymond Hale, of Paradise, Texas. Jim Struhsaker of the National Transportation Safety Board said Hale recently purchased the single-engine Beech B23 from a California resident and obtained a "ferry permit" from the FAA allowing him to fly the plane to a repair facility for additional work before full certification.

Hale took off Saturday from an airport in 29 Palms, Calif., and was heading to Love Field in Prescott, Struhsaker said.

Heavy crosswinds near Bagdad spurred Hale to make a hard landing about 100 yards south of the local airport runway.

The hard landing triggered an emergency locator, which led authorities to the plane just after daybreak Sunday.

Struhsaker said Hale didn't realize the locator had been activated and left the area with a local resident. The resident had offered to take Hale to Prescott to make arrangements to return to Texas.

NTSB officials investigating the crash were initially unsure who was flying the plane and what happened to the pilot, but Struhsaker said they located Hale after discovering the ferry permit.

Struhsaker said Hale was making arrangements to recover the plane.