Light aircraft crashes on return from Tartu airshow, one dead
The pilot of a light aircraft which crashed on take-off near Cēsis, Latvia on Sunday was killed, while a passenger was hospitalized with serious injuries, the English-language page of public broadcaster LSM reports.
The plane was a self-build replica of the late 1920s Anbo II single-engine monoplane, registered in Lithuania.
The plane had stopped at Priekuļi airfield, just outside Cēsis, to refuel, en route to its destination in Biržai, in northern Lithuania, LSM reports.
After refueling it attempted to take-off, and subsequently crashed following engine failure, a little before 1.30 p.m. Sunday. The pilot had attempted to abort take-off and to carry out an emergency landing.
The pilot, a Lithuanian citizen, died at the scene, while the passenger, also a Lithuanian, was taken to a nearby hospital with serious injuries.
The plane's occupants had planned to take part in the Estonian Flight Days (Eesti lennupäevad) event in Tartu County Sunday morning, but had registered too late and instead attended as viewing guests, Mati Meos, the event's organizer, told ERR.
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