Two people have been taken to hospital with head injuries after a light plane on a training flight collided with a car during a mishap northeast of Melbourne.
A white Volkswagen SUV travelling on MacIntyre Ln in Yering was hit as the Piper Cherokee came in to land at Lilydale Airport about 2.30pm on Tuesday.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Plane collides with car northeast of Melbourne
Sign up to The Nightly’s newsletters.
Get the first look at the digital newspaper, curated daily stories and breaking headlines delivered to your inbox.
By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.
7NEWS was told the single-engine plane’s nose wheel struck the car’s rear passenger window and its landing gear left tyre marks across the bonnet.
Two people in the car, a woman aged in her 60s and a man in his 70s, suffered head injuries and were transported by road to Maroondah Hospital.
Both are in a stable condition.
Two people in the plane, which finished on grass a few metres short of the landing strip, were assessed but did not require emergency care or transport.
Those in the plane had removed themselves from the aircraft by the time emergency crews reached the crash, and the SES helped get a single person from the car.
“The patient was subsequently transferred into the care of paramedics and crews assisted in making the scene safe,” the agency said.
A plane has clipped a car during a crash outside Lilydale Airport, northeast of Melbourne. Credit: 7NEWSTwo people in the car were taken to hospital. Credit: 7NEWS
Pictures from the 7NEWS chopper showed a badly damaged SUV with a cracked windscreen and damage on its bonnet.
Witness Sam Theobald said it looked like the vehicle had been T-boned by another car.
“But there was no other car there with it, so that was a little bit confusing,” he said.
Flightradar24 data showed the plane had been undertaking looped circuit work prior to crashing.
Road closures are in place and the ATSB is investigating. Credit: 7NEWS
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has opened an investigation.
“The aircraft will be taken to a secure place for further examination if needed,” ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell said.
“If the investigation identifies a critical safety issue at any time the ATSB will immediately inform relevant stakeholders.”
Anyone with information or vision of the crash can make contact with the ATSB.
Road closures are in place and motorists have been told to avoid the area.
A pilot walked away uninjured from this crash at the same airport in March 2018 after overshooting the runway. Credit: 7NEWS
The emergency comes eight years after a light plane overshot the runway at the same airport and crashed in a ditch.
In heavy rain, the Cessna 340 slid across MacIntyre Ln, missing motorists, before finally coming to a stop.
The male pilot was not hurt and managed to pull himself out of the wreck.
“It happened in front of motorists but luckily on this occasion fortune was on our side and no one was injured and no cars were involved,” police said of the March 2018 crash.
