Pilot recovering in hospital after crashing training aircraft into hillside in the New Territories

Picture of the crashed  Zlin Z42. Via screenshot from Apple Daily
Picture of the crashed Zlin Z42. Via screenshot from Apple Daily

The condition of a pilot who survived a plane crash in northern Hong Kong yesterday has improved.

A spokesperson at the government’s information services department told Coconuts HK that the 23-year-old’s condition has been upgraded to serious, after being brought to the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sha Tin in critical condition.

The pilot emerged conscious from the wreckage of a Zlin Z42, a two-seater Czechoslovakian trainer aircraft, belonging to the Hong Kong Aviation yesterday afternoon.

According to Hong Kong’s Civil Aviation Department (CAD), the plane when down just after 4:30pm and was found in bushes in Ma Shi Chau, Tai Po.

“The CAD’s Air Traffic Control Tower received a report from the Fire Services Department at about 4:38pm that a light aircraft was involved in an accident,” CAD said in a statement.

“The CAD immediately initiated the emergency alerting procedure and notified relevant parties to standby in the vicinity.

“According to preliminary inspection, wings and fuselage of the aircraft were damaged.The accident did not cause any injury or damage to any persons or properties on the ground.”

Speaking to the SCMP, CAD’s senior airworthiness officer Raymond Hung Chung-man called the crash “very serious” and said early indications suggested the aircrafted seemed to have “lost control.”

Apple Daily reported the pilot had three months of flying experience. The outlet spoke to a witness, surnamed Lau, who was kayaking in the area at the time and saw the plane plunge into a hillside.

A picture of the pilot being helped by emergency services. Screen grab via Apple Daily

Lau said the pilot looked like he was practicing aerobatic moves — doing loops and circling in the air — when the plane started to fall. He said the aircraft plunged about 100 meters in about five seconds.

Amazingly, emergency services upon arriving found the pilot, though bleeding from his head with scratches to his hands and feet, had managed to get out of the cabin and was walking around, Apple Daily reported.

CAD and the Hong Kong Aviation Club are probing the cause of the crash.

A spokesperson at the Hong Kong Aviation Club said it was too early to give any indications about the reason behind the crash. “They don’t have any updates yet,” he told Coconuts HK.



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