Light Plane Crash Lands In Ards

A pilot was forced to crash land his plane into a hedge in Newtownards, to avoid crashing in an open field where children were playing.

The incident happened around 5pm on Thursday when the aircraft made the emergency landing at Dairy Hall playing fields in Co Down.

The BBC has said the pilot, Michael McGrady, who is the chief flying instructor for the Ulster Flying Club, and his passenger were not seriously injured.

It is thought the passenger was on his first trial flight with the club.

Speaking to BBC NI's Good Morning Ulster, Chairman of the Ulster Flying Club, John Hughes, said: "He [the pilot] could easily have landed that aircraft undamaged but he avoided all the children.

"The pilot was our chief flying instructor and he is also a commercial pilot. This was about the skills of the man. If you saw the short length of field he put that aircraft down in, you would appreciate the skills he demonstrated yesterday afternoon.

"Without the gentleman's ability, we could have been in a spot of bother.

"It was about the skill of the pilot and the strength of the aircraft. Some would call it luck but you make your own luck. Fortunately, our chief flying instructor was flying the aircraft and that is the level of skill that we had."

On Thursday evening, a spokesperson for the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service confirmed on Twitter that the two people on board walked from the plane and were being assessed.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch has launched an inquiry into the incident.

(JP/CD)