Small Plane Crash-Lands; Pilot in Critical Condition

A 68-year-old Hilo man was critically injured Thursday morning when he crash-landed a small plane in a corn field on the Hamakua coast.

The man told police that he was forced to attempt a landing in a newly planted corn field when his two-seat, single-engine plane lost power.

Police officers arrived at the scene off O‘okala Road near the 30-mile marker on Route 19 at 10:45 a.m.

Fire Department personnel helped remove the pilot from the plane and airlifted him to North Hawaii Community Hospital in Waimea. He was later transported to the Queen’s Medical Center on Oahu. Police have not released his name.

An investigator from the Federal Aviation Administration was expected to arrive today at the scene.