Olathe ? A bank robber who took at least six people hostage and ordered them to strip down to their underwear was shot by police at an airport Wednesday as he apparently tried to make his getaway in a small plane, authorities said.

The man was taken by helicopter to a hospital. He was in critical condition late Wednesday, FBI spokesman Jeff Lanza said. No one else was hurt.

Lanza said that authorities believe the 44-year-old Wichita man acted alone and had walked to the bank after parking his Toyota Camry near a golf course about two miles away. Authorities would not release the suspect’s name Wednesday afternoon because charges had not been filed against him.

Police and the FBI said the robber held up a bank in Olathe. He held hostages in the bank for about 30 minutes, before loading some — four women and two men — into a minivan owned by one of the hostages, a teller at the bank. A hostage was forced to drive the minivan to the Johnson County Executive Airport, about two miles away, and pulled up next to a plane on the runway, authorities said.

Police and the suspect exchanged gunfire, Lanza said. The suspect was outside the minivan when he was shot by police.

Lanza said investigators determined a flight instructor and student who were onboard the plane were not involved.

The airplane was taxiing when the minivan pulled in front of it, forcing it to stop, Lanza said.

The pilot, Matt Miller, told KMBZ-TV that he and his student were doing a final check on the plane when he looked up and saw a man next to the cabin door with a hood on.

“I heard the police yell, ‘Drop your weapon,’ and I heard the shots fired,” Miller said. “I ducked underneath the instrument panel.

Law enforcement officials look over the scene at the Johnson County Executive Airport, where a bank robbery suspect was shot and then taken into custody on Wednesday. Earlier in the day the suspect had attempted to rob a bank in Olathe and fled with several hostages.

“Then I heard another officer yelling, ‘Get out, Get out.’ ” Because there were guns trained on him, “I exited the aircraft rather rapidly,” he said.

Miller, who has been a flight instructor for 25 years, said he was concerned the man was a terrorist until a police officer told him about the bank robbery. He said he understood why police cuffed him and the student and questioned them before they were released.

“They didn’t know for sure if I was part of the people that robbed the bank,” he said.

Lanza said the suspect has a pilot’s license, although authorities do not know if the man was trying to get on the plane.

“It’s looking like this is a one-man job,” said Lanza, who characterized it as “the most unusual bank robbery we’ve ever had in this area.”

Lanza said money was recovered from the minivan and authorities were assuming it had come from the bank. He would not say how much money was found.

John Dicus, president of Topeka-based Capital Federal Savings, said he expected to meet with employees at the Olathe bank on Thursday.

“We are just waiting with our management team to talk with the employees who were in the office during the horrific event,” Dicus said. “We are standing by and also have counselors available for them and their families.”

Matt Braswell, a witness, told KCTV he saw the hostages come out of the bank in chains. “It was like a traumatic movie,” he said.

Lanza said the suspect was carrying a backpack containing chains and plastic handcuffs when he went into the bank. After police arrived, a hostage wearing only underwear brought out a two-way radio to give to police, apparently so the suspect could communicate with officers.

Lanza also said one shot was fired from the minivan while it was still in the parking lot. Authorities tried to block the minivan with an armored car, Olathe police Sgt. Mike Butaud, but it went over a curb to get away.

Authorities had not yet interviewed the suspect late Wednesday afternoon, Lanza said, but connected him to the Toyota Camry through a set of keys he apparently dropped when he was shot by police.