Pilot fighting for life after Belfast crash
The pilot of a light aircraft is critically ill tonight after his plane crashed into playing fields, narrowly missing a Belfast housing estate.
The plane nose-dived into recreation grounds near the Inverary Estate, east Belfast at around 6pm, local residents said.
Witnesses said the pilot managed to escape the aircraft following the crash but sustained burns in the blazing wreck.
Noel Mulholland, who was in his garden when the crash happened, said he was among those who pulled the pilot to safety.
“All we heard was a screech and a sound like metal running along followed by a large whoosh” he said.
“There was a huge ball of black smoke and we discovered through the flames that there was someone rolling around the ground on fire.
“We had to get him out of there and we got him up and away from the aircraft”.
As locals tended to the man there was a series of explosions apparently from inside the aircraft, Mr Mulholland said.
He added that normally children would have been playing games in the field opposite Belfast City Airport.
“Luckily there were no children there. We had to seal off the area to keep children away from all the explosions,” he said.
“We had to wait for about six to seven minutes for the emergency services to arrive.
“He had burns and we had to keep him moving.
“I can’t say at this stage what the nature of those burns are but we had to keep him conscious.”
Mr Mulholland said the pilot asked for his wife to be contacted while they waited for the emergency services to arrive.
A spokeswoman for the Royal Group of Hospitals in Belfast confirmed that the pilot was admitted to the city’s Royal Victoria Hospital for treatment.
“He is currently being assessed in the accident and emergency department in the Royal Victoria,” she said.
She later confirmed the pilot was “critically ill” after the crash.
Sir Reg Empey, in whose Assembly constituency the crash took place, said it raised concerns about plans to expand the neighbouring City Airport.
At the crash site, the Ulster Unionist MLA, who has campaigned against the expansion of the airport, said: “It appears this light aircraft may have been on fire before it hit the ground and the pilot has been pretty badly burned.
“The lesson out of all of this is what could have happened.
“The nearest houses are about a hundred yards away from where this crash took place and there would have been kids normally playing in that park.
“I am calling for an inquiry, not just by the Civil Aviation Authority which has to take place, but by the minister (for regional development) who I would like to launch a review of safety in the City Airport area.”
Sir Reg said there could have been a disaster had a commercial airline plummeted into the playing fields.
“One shudders to think what would have happened if an A321 airbus had come down in this area. Maybe this will be a wake-up call which I hope the authorities will heed.
He said planning permission connected to the airport’s expansion should be suspended because it “simply hasn’t the capacity to take on more aircraft”.
