Failed emergency landing

Light aircraft crashed in Mauterndorf

Fire department operation: the plane came to a halt just short of a residential building.(Bild: Feuerwehr Mauterndorf)

The emergency services were alerted on Saturday morning in Mauterndorf in Lungau: a small plane had crashed near the airfield. The 70-year-old pilot was injured and taken to hospital in Tamsweg, according to the Red Cross and police. The plane was a total loss.

According to the police, the engine suddenly stopped shortly after take-off at the airfield in Mauterndorf. The pilot tried to make an emergency landing in a nearby field. In the process, the plane turned and touched the garden fence of a family home. A witness informed the emergency services.

Crash landing in a residential area near the airfield(Bild: Feuerwehr Mauterndorf)

The man is said to have suffered minor injuries in the incident and was taken to Tamsweg Hospital. The Mauterndorf and St. Michael fire departments were deployed. The Tamsweg fire station for hazardous substances was also alerted because aviation fuel had to be pumped out of the wreckage. 

The Mauterndorf airfield, which is located at an altitude of 1110 meters above sea level and is a challenge for pilots, has been the scene of several aviation accidents in recent years. In June 2018, a man died when a glider crashed. There was an emergency landing just this week: a pilot from Switzerland got into difficulties after take-off.