Three people had a lucky escape when a light aircraft crashed on take-off in Co Limerick yesterday morning. The single-engined Beech aircraft with a pilot and two elderly passengers on board was taking off from Ballyneale Stud, near Ballingarry, at 11.30 a.m. when the accident occurred.
The stud has its own grass airstrip for light aircraft.
The 27-year-old pilot was taking his passengers to Gloucester in England when, according to a Garda spokesman, the plane lost power and came down in a nearby field. It careered through a ditch and travelled 40 yards into the field.
Air Traffic Control at Shannon Airport alerted the emergency services. An emergency location beacon transmitter went off in the stricken plane which was picked up by other aircraft which alerted Air Traffic Control, explained a spokesman.
The three people were taken to the Mid-Western Regional Hospital by ambulance.
A 72-year-old woman is being treated for head injuries, and her condition was said to be stable. An 85-year-old man suffered abdominal trauma with suspected lower limb fractures and was said to be ill but stable. The pilot suffered lacerations to the face and was stable.
A spokesman for gardaí at Newcastle West, who are investigating the incident, said: "They were very lucky. It could have been worse".
An investigation is also being carried out by the Air Accident Investigation Unit of the Department of Transport, whose experts were travelling to the scene.