MICROLIGHT HORROR
77-year-old pilot is killed in field crash
A PENSIONER was killed when he lost control of his microlight and it crashed into a field.
The 77-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene and a crash investigation launched.
Police were called to an area near Garshangan Road in Kilmacolm, Renfrewshire, just before noon on Tuesday.
Officers were later seen investigating the badly damaged aircraft.
The metal frame and engine appeared to have become detached from the wings of the plane.
The area, near Dykefoot Farm, on the edge of Clyde Muirshiel regional park, is a popular spot with microlight and paraglider enthusiasts.
A Police Scotland spokesman said: ‘Around 11.50am on Tuesday, June 2, police were called to a field near Garshangan Road, Kilmacolm, where a microlight plane had crashed.’
The spokesman said emergency services attended but ‘the 77-yearold male pilot was pronounced dead at the scene’.
She added: ‘A full report will be sent to the procurator fiscal.’
Elsewhere, in Motherwell, North
Lanarkshire, an amateur aircraft enthusiast with no flying experience was criticised for purchasing a microlight during lockdown and then crashing it after taking off by mistake. The man was taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow and treated for his injuries after the incident on Friday evening.
The incident was referred to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, however, officials ruled there had been ‘no intention to fly’ and concluded that the incident fell outside their remit.