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‘Burst into flames’: Pilot seriously injured, fire sparked after ultralight plane crash in Surrey

The pilot of an ultralight plane has been sent to the hospital with serious injuries after a crash at an airfield in Surrey, B.C. on Friday afternoon.

Two ambulances were called to the aviation field on 152 Street south of Surrey Lake at 1:18 p.m., according to BC Emergency Health Services.

Paramedics brought a single patient to the hospital in “serious condition.”

Witness Jeff Rochon said the pilot was conducting a test flight on the aircraft he had been working on.

“He managed to get it into the air, 300 or 400 feet and apparently the engine started to miss. He tried to turn back to the field and fell short to where you see the wreckage in the background,” he told Global News.

“Immediately, it burst into flames. He had some difficulty getting out and fire broke out, and kind of burned his legs somewhat. He was conscious and walking.”

The all-aluminum ultralight — which was badly damaged — also caught fire, sparking a grass fire. Surrey fire crews flooded the scene on Friday afternoon, attempting to douse the flames.

Thick smoke could be seen blowing over the field next to a small, scorched white aircraft.

“We’re dealing with it but as you can tell … it’s all of a sudden gotten windy this afternoon and the wind is pushing this fire away from us,” said John Lehmann, deputy chief of operations for Surrey, said in an interview.

“We are getting crews on all the different flanks of the fire, to the north and to the east of it at this time.

Rochon said he and a friend had been in a hangar at the other end of the aviation field when they saw the plane go down and rushed to help.

“He got to (the pilot) quickly, got across the ditch and managed to help him walk across the ditch,” Rochon described, adding that the pilot was “mad as a hornet.”

Rochon said his companion brought the pilot to a shaded area, where he waited for paramedics.

Surrey RCMP said the cause of the initial plane fire remains unclear.

The street has been closed between 72nd Avenue and 68th Avenue in both directions.

“Police are requesting people plan ahead, avoid the area and use alternate routes. It is unknown how long the closures will remain in effect,” Surrey RCMP wrote in an emailed statement.

&copy 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.


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