Microlight crash: Pilots hurt but ‘in good spirits’

Two men who were injured in a light aircraft crash in Co Londonderry on Saturday afternoon are said to be recovering and “in good spirits”.
The crashed aircraft was derigged  a process that involved removing one of the wings  by club members to give the emergency services crews easier access. Pic Matt Steele/McAuley MultimediaThe crashed aircraft was derigged  a process that involved removing one of the wings  by club members to give the emergency services crews easier access. Pic Matt Steele/McAuley Multimedia
The crashed aircraft was derigged  a process that involved removing one of the wings  by club members to give the emergency services crews easier access. Pic Matt Steele/McAuley Multimedia

The two qualified pilots – one aged in his 60s and the other in his 30s – sustained non-life-threatening injuries when their microlight crashed on the runway at Causeway Airfield, near Coleraine.

NI Fire and Rescue Service crews, Ambulance Service personnel and the air ambulance were tasked to the incident at around 2:45pm and both men were taken to nearby Causeway Hospital for treatment.

A spokesman for the Ulster Seaplane Association Ltd, which runs the airfield at Aghadowey, said the two men are recovering and “will be back flying again.”

“Both guys are club members and both are qualified pilots,” he said. “They have some fractures, but it is fortunate that their injuries aren’t life-threatening. Both of them are in good spirits.”

Praising the emergency services for their swift response, the spokesman said the air ambulance had attended the scene, but was quickly redeployed to a more serious incident – a road crash near Coleraine.

“The fact that the air ambulance was in this area already meant it was able to attend the more serious incident more quickly, so undoubtedly lives were saved,” he added.

The club spokesman said it is too early to say what caused the microlight to crash, but stressed that a full investigation will be carried out in conjunction with the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).

“We are aware of the incident and are investigating,” an AAIB spokesperson said.