A 73-year-old man died on Sunday after his self-built plane crashed near Aurora, a southwestern suburb of Chicago.

The pilot called the control tower at Aurora Municipal Airport to return and land after experiencing trouble but the plane crashed before it could reach the airport, reported Chicago Tribune, quoting a spokesman of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The pilot, who is described of "loved flying" with a long history of flying experimental planes, was the only person on the plane and died on the scene.

The spokesman added that the plane was making a test flight and had never flown before. Besides, FAA records showed that the plane was certified on May 31 and the pilot built the plane himself.

According to National Transportation Safety Board records, the pilot survived crashes in two other experimental airplanes that he had previously built over the past decade.