Engine failure is believed to be the cause of a light plane crash north of Gympie at the weekend.
A LifeFlight aeromedical crew airlifted the man to hospital after an emergency landing that turned into a crash soon after the aircraft left Gladstone airport on its way to the Sunshine Coast.
A LifeFlight spokesperson said the man experienced an emergency soon after leaving Gladstone on his way across Fraser Coast and Gympie regions.
The Bundaberg-based LifeFlight aeromedical crew airlifted a man to hospital following the crash landing in a paddock, not far from a nearby airstrip.
The pilot , described as a man in his 60s, was able to glide towards the airstrip but did not quite make it.
Falling short of the airstrip he was forced to attempt a landing in the paddock, a spokesperson said.
“The LifeFlight helicopter was tasked at 11.25am to the Gladstone region and landed in the paddock near the aircraft.
“The LifeFlight critical care doctor and Queensland Ambulance Service QAS flight paramedic treated the patient for a head injury.
He was then airlifted to Bundaberg Hospital in a stable condition for further treatment,” the spokesperson said.
The Bundaberg-based LifeFlight helicopter and crew are part of a network that services Gympie’s Wide Bay-Burnett region, among other regions across Queensland.
