Pilot suffers serious injuries after plane crashes into Yorkshire sculpture park

The pilot of a small plane that crashed into a sculpture park in Yorkshire has been airlifted to hospital.

Police were called to a light aircraft crash in the Masham area at 12.20pm on Wednesday.

The sole occupant of the plane was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

The wreckage of the white plane can be seen crumpled into a tree at the The Himalayan Garden & Sculpture Park near Grewelthorpe.

The cockpit has been completely destroyed after the aircraft appears to have nosedived into the ground.

The tourist hotspot was closed to the public over winter. No one else is thought to have been hurt in the crash.

The force said a number of ambulance resources were dispatched to the scene, including an ambulance, a team leader and a Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

A North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: ‘Crews from Leyburn, Thirsk and Ripon were called to an incident involving a light aircraft which had crashed at a location in the Masham area.

‘The pilot was released from the aircraft by emergency services and taken by air ambulance to hospital.

‘Fire crews then checked for hazards and made the scene safe.’

The Air Accident and Investigation Branch (AAIB) AAIB added in a statement: ‘The AAIB has started an investigation into an accident involving a light aircraft which occurred today.

‘A multi-disciplinary team including inspectors with expertise in aircraft operations, engineering and recorded data have been deployed to gather evidence and make enquiries.’

A spokesperson from Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust said: ‘We received a call from police colleagues at 12.24pm to report a light aircraft crash in the Masham area.

‘A number of ambulance resources were dispatched to the scene, including an ambulance, a team leader and a Yorkshire Air Ambulance, and one patient was airlifted to hospital.’

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