Pair lucky to escape crash
TWO men were treated for back injuries after their home-built light aircraft crashed on a Leyburn property yesterday.
The aircraft came down about 10.30am on a property on Bonnie Doon Rd, off the Toowoomba-Karara Rd south of Leyburn, in a paddock a short distance from the road.
The men – aged 63 and 70 – on board the aircraft were transported by a private vehicle to Toowoomba, with a Queensland Ambulance Service spokesman saying their pain became too great and they were met by an ambulance on the New England Hwy at Top Camp, just outside Toowoomba.
Emergency services and police were not notified about the incident until 1pm.
“They were treated by paramedics at that location and were then taken by ambulance to Toowoomba Hospital in a stable condition,” the QAS spokesman said.
A Queensland Fire and Rescue Service crew secured the site and shut off the aircraft’s fuel system.
A resident who witnessed the crash said the plane appeared to not have enough power to clear trees in the paddock, with a
The two men were both very lucky and the aircraft has come to rest between two trees.
– Police spokesman
police spokesman saying the plane had taken off from a private airstrip a short distance away.
“It was a still day and the pilot – who had not taken off from this airstrip previously – appears to have not given himself enough room after take-off and the aircraft has clipped some trees,” he said.
“The two men were both very lucky and the aircraft has come to rest between two trees.”
The aircraft was a Wittman Tailwind, a popular single-engine propeller model for home aircraft builders.