Light plane crashes into Ferris wheel

An ultra-light plane crashed into a Ferris wheel at a rural festival in eastern Australia today, trapping four people in the …

An ultra-light plane crashed into a Ferris wheel at a rural festival in eastern Australia today, trapping four people in the tangled wreckage for hours. There were no serious injuries.

The Cheetah S200 carrying two men did not topple the wheel when it hit the frame near the top on the first morning of an annual three-day festival at Old Bar, a coastal village 220 miles north of Sydney, New South Wales Rural Fire Service spokesman Ben Shepherd said.

Two children - boy (9) and girl (13) - were trapped in a carriage at the top of the Ferris wheel near the wrecked plane for 90 minutes, a police statement said.

The pilot (53) and his passenger (32) were trapped inside the mangled aircraft more than 30 feet above the ground for almost three hours, police said.

Mr Shepherd said rescuers used a crane to free the four. "Thankfully, everyone was taken down and were able to walk away from it," he said.

Witnesses said the Ferris wheel was full of children minutes before the crash. But because of impending rain, only five had dared to take the final ride, said a festival organiser.

The plane, owned and piloted by a local man, had just taken off from a nearby air airstrip when it crashed, it was reported.

AP