LEBANON — A retired Peterborough man died in a plane crash at Lebanon Municipal Airport Thursday.

Paul Schlieben of MacDowell Road was flying his 2006 Cessna 182 Skylane fixed-wing single engine when he crashed near a runway at the airport.

Thursday afternoon his wife of 35 years, Joan Schlieben, confirmed he was killed in the crash.

“I'm just trying to absorb it. I found out a couple of hours ago,” she said.

Police and firefighters received a report of a small plane crash at the airport at 1:45 p.m. The FAA control tower had notified Lebanon Emergency Services Dispatch, the Lebanon Fire Department said in a news release.

“On arrival, units found a single-engine Cessna 182 heavily involved in fire in the grassy, wetlands area on the east side of runway 36. Fire units quickly extinguished the fire and upon further investigation found a single deceased victim in the wreckage of the plane,” fire officials said.

Police and firefighters secured the area and helped officials from the state Medical Examiner's Office remove the crash victim, who was taken to Concord.

Lebanon Police Chief M. James Alexander said the plane “left the airport and was trying to come back for some kind of problem it encountered and tried to land and it was unsuccessful doing that. There was some issue.”

The National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the investigation into the cause of the crash, confirmed the sole occupant died, but did not identify the pilot.

Peter Knudson, National Transportation Safety Board spokesman, said shortly after the plane took off “the pilot requested a turn back ... The aircraft crashed short of the runway while maneuvering back toward landing.”

Schlieben took up flying in 2001. He retired in 2006 when he sold his Peterborough software business, Softlanding Systems.

He was known in the town and throughout the ConVal School District for his teen flight program Take-Off and Grow, which he founded in 2007. He started the program so he could mentor high school students interested in aviation.

Take-Off and Grow allowed ConVal High School students to exchange community service hours for flight time with the goal of earning a pilot's license.

Two years into the program's inception, two teens had earned their pilot's licenses and three more are well on their way. The program had also logged more than 2,000 volunteer hours in the community.

The program was ultimately dissolved by Schlieben, Peterborough Selectman Barbara Miller said Thursday. It was a nice idea, but too costly, she said.

Miller said Schlieben had also been an active member of the Peterborough Rotary Club.

“He's an example of what every citizen should be, every resident should be, willing to help and lead in public service and volunteerism and you could always count on Paul,” Miller said.

He had also flown for Angel Flight Northeast, a volunteer pilot association that arranges free air transportation for charitable and medical needs.

Investigator Jill Demko of the NTSB Ashburn, Va., office is expected to begin the NTSB investigation of the crash this morning.

In her investigation, Demko will document the crash scene, find and interview witnesses and collect any pertinent traffic control, weather and flight plan data, Knudson said.