A trainee pilot has escaped with minor injuries after his plane made an emergency landing at Hamilton Airport before crashing into another light plane parked near the runway.
The man, in his mid-20s, had just taken off in a Tecnam P2008 twin-seater training aircraft owned by the Waikato Aero Club.
The light plane involved in the crash. Photo: RNZ
He was on his first solo flight just before 9am when something happened to the plane and he was forced to make an emergency landing. The plane crashed into a parked and unoccupied Cessna.
Waikato Aero Club chief executive Richard Small says it is too early to say what caused the emergency landing.
He says the pilot managed to get the aircraft level before landing, so the undercarriage took all the impact.
Mr Small says the pilot suffered a cut nose, sore back and is in shock. He was treated at the scene by St John ambulance staff.
Mr Small says it was a combination of luck and training that prevented the incident being more serious. The plane was extensively damaged and the Civil Aviation Authority has been notified.
