A young Hong Kong man has died after he was critically injured in a plane crash in Melbourne yesterday morning.
The death of trainee pilot Nicholas Cheung, 20, was announced by his flight school Learn to Fly on Facebook at 6:25pm (HKT) today. Cheung and his flying instructor were carrying out a training flight in a two-seater Bristell ultralight plane when the aircraft suddenly crashed at 10:40am local time yesterday.
A spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Safety Authority told The Australian that the plane broadcast a mayday message before slamming into a paddock on Hardys Road, on the outskirts of Melbourne.
The instructor, an unidentified 28-year-old man, was airlifted to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in critical condition. Cheung, who was trapped in the wreckage, was freed by emergency workers more than an hour later. He sustained injuries to his face, chest, and spine and was sent to The Alfred Hospital.
While Cheung’s condition was initially given as “serious but stable”, a spokesperson for the hospital said it had later been upgraded to critical. He passed away from his injuries this afternoon.
The reason for the crash is still to be determined pending investigations by Recreational Aviation Australia, the national governing body for ultralight aircraft and pilots. The Bristell FG, which was manufactured in 2011, was registered to the Learn to Fly school based at Moorabbin Airport.
