Pilot and passenger are rushed to hospital with serious injuries as light aircraft crashes in field
- A pilot and passenger are injured following a light aircraft crash in West Sussex
- They were airlifted to Royal Sussex County Hospital and are in serious condition
- A spokeswoman for Brighton City Airport said the aircraft declared a mayday
Two men have been injured following an aircraft crash near Worthing, West Sussex this afternoon.
The pilot and passenger are in a serious condition after they were taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton by air ambulance.
After the light aircraft crashed police and ambulance were called to the scene, which is on open downland at Titch Hill between Steyning and Wiston, around 1pm earlier today.
On Twitter, bystander Steve Carter posted photos of emergency vehicles at the scene after two men have been injured following an aircraft crash near Worthing, West Sussex
A police statement said the two injured men received medical attention at the scene.
It added that the Accident Investigation Branch has been informed of the incident and has launched an investigation, The Argus reported.
According to ITV, A spokesman for the South East Coast Ambulance Service said: ‘SECAmb was called to reports of an incident involving a light aircraft at Titch Hill, Sompting, shortly after 1pm on Friday (11 February).
‘Ambulance crews including our Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) are in attendance alongside the air ambulance service assessing and treating two patients at the scene.’
A spokeswoman for Brighton City Airport told The Argus that ‘the aircraft declared a mayday, due to engine failure and force-landed in a field near Steyning’.
She also confirmed it was traveling through the area, and was not based in Shoreham.
After the light aircraft crashed police and ambulance were called to the scene, which is on open downland at Titch Hill between Steyning and Wiston, around 1pm earlier today
Witnesses also told the paper they saw the plane flying ‘dangerously low’ as it ‘disappeared behind a hill’.
On Twitter, bystander Steve Carter posted photos of emergency vehicles at the scene captioned: ‘No idea what is going up on the #southdowns above Steyning. Huge emergency response up there currently off the Bostal Rd.’
The site of the accident is near Shoreham, where 11 men died in the 2015 Shoreham Airshow disaster, a tragedy that devastated the seaside town.
Shocking images captured the Hawker Hunter jet exploding into a fireball after it plunged from the skies and smashed onto the A27, a dual carriageway packed with cars on a sunny August afternoon.
MailOnline has reached out to the South East Coast Ambulance Service, Sussex Police and Brighton City Airport for more information.
Source: Read Full Article
