Plane Crash at Benambra, Vic
Liam Houlihan and AAP
March 07, 2009 03:55pm
UPDATE 6.15pm: A LIGHT plane has crashed and injured two people while performing a "lolly drop" at a Gippsland race meeting.
The ultralight was entertaining the crowd by flying low to drop the sweets at the 133-year-old Hinnomunjie racecourse.
The pilot and passenger in the plane suffered serious injuries, with one of the pair suffering a broken leg and burns after the plane burst into flames, Ambulance Victoria spokesman John Mullen said today.
The plane crashed next to a racecourse at about 3.30pm after clipping powerlines about 425km east of Melbourne.
The crash sparked a small grass and scrub fire, which has since been extinguished, a Country Fire Authority spokeswoman said.
A police spokeswoman said the plane crashed about 600 metres from spectators.
"It was flying too low, clipped the power lines and crashed at the edge of the racecourse,'' she said.
An employee at the Benambra Hotel, Sharon Cook, said two men had been in the plane, and she believed the pilot had suffered only minor injuries.
An ambulance helicopter has flown to the scene.
The race day meeting is part of a traditional March Labour Day weekend ``race week'' in the region which draws hundreds of tourists.
The accident scene is about 425km east of Melbourne.
To those of you who know some of the 'Identities' who live up that way, it was not Benny or Mick.
Sympathy to those who were injured in the crash of this RAA category aircraft, hope you are on the mend soon. those ambo's in the helicopter are solid gold when you need them.
HD