HALIFAX -- The pilot of a small aircraft was taken to hospital with injuries after his plane crashed near an airport in central Nova Scotia on Sunday morning.
Nova Scotia RCMP say at 10:19 a.m. on September 6, they responded to a call of a plane crash near the runway of Stanley Airport in Stanley, N.S.
Police say a male pilot was the lone occupant of the single engine plane. He was airlifted to hospital via life flight with non-life threatening injuries.
"He was conscious, lucid, and banged up a bit, but we're certainly hopeful he's going to be perfectly fine," said Mike Whitehead, safety officer at the Stanley Sport Aviation Association.
The flying club's safety officer says the pilot was an experienced member.
"He was doing what's called a 'touch-and-go' on the runway behind us. It's a manoeuver to practice landing and takeoffs, so you don’t come to stop, you touchdown, and then power down again, and take off again,” says Whitehead. “For some reason the plane veered off the runway off to the right-hand side and into the grass.”
The Transportation Safety Board said in an email it was aware of the incident but was not planning to deploy an investigation team to the scene.
A spokeswoman with the board said the aircraft was a Piel Emeraude, which is a homebuilt, light aircraft design originally made in France.
Julie Leroux also said the aircraft was doing circuits at Stanley airport and the pilot was the only person on board.
The investigation is in the early stages and will be turned over to Transportation and Safety Board with assistance from the RCMP.
