By BRIDGET SCOTT
A LIGHT plane accident in Tooradin last weekend left an elderly man hospitalised while a 16-year-old escaped nearly unscathed.
On Sunday 12 April, emergency services attended the Tooradin Airfield after a plane allegedly crashed when attempting to land around midday.
Police from Cranbourne and Dandenong, as well as members from the Pakenham Road Rescue Crew (PRRC) attended the scene to help free the 74-year-old pilot from the wreckage. He was airlifted to hospital.
Detective Acting Senior Sergeant at Dandenong CIU Dean Hayes said the matter was under investigation with the cause still to be determined.
He said it appeared the plane was trying to land on the landing strip for light aircrafts, and appeared to have bounced from that area across a ditch, and finished on a mound.
“We are yet to find out if it was in regards to a pilot or mechanical error,” he said.
The police officer said the pilot was being assessed for spinal injuries, while the 16-year-old boy was taken to Dandenong Hospital where he was treated for minor scratches and possibly a burn from the seat belt.
Pakenham SES Media Liaison officer Shayne Honey said they were called to the airfield around 12.22pm where they found a light aircraft on the grass; however an eight foot deep creek lay between rescuers and the plane.
“Rescuers were required to erect a makeshift bridge over the muddy creek with ladders to access the plane and take materials to enable the rescue,” he said.
Mr Honey said rescuers were required to carry rescue equipment, including jaws of life, over the creek and into the paddock before they could begin to extract the pilot.
“The pilot was removed from the plane, placed on a stretcher and carried over the creek using a pulley system,” he said.
“Rescuers were required to stand in the muddy creek to assist in getting the pilot to a waiting ambulance where he was further treated and airlifted to hospital.”
Det Acting Sen Sgt Hayes said police were investigating the matter in consultation with Aviation Australia to determine the cause.
