Light plane's engine fails mid-air

A light aircraft was forced to land this morning. Photo/Warren Buckland.

A small plane has been forced to land in a paddock near the Hastings Aerodrome in Bridge Pa this morning.

The engine of the Piper Tomahawk failed and the forced landing took place at about 8am this morning, close to the Aerodrome.

Police said no injuries were reported.

A St John Ambulance spokeswoman said they attended but transport to Hawke's Bay Hospital was not required.

A police media spokeswoman said the plane was forced to land in a paddock near the SH50 and SH50A intersection, between Ngatarawa and Maraekakaho.

A Hawkes Bay & East Coast Aero Club Inc spokesman said the Piper Tomahawk aircraft departed the Hastings aerodrome this morning.

"After 40 minutes of flying, the experienced Instructor and trainee pilot were returning to base and experienced partial loss of engine power."

"The Instructor made the correct decision in conducting an emergency landing in a suitable paddock rather than attempting to return to base. Pilots are trained for this type of situation."

A spokesperson from the Aero Club commended the actions of the Instructor with no harm done to either pilot and no damage to the aircraft.

A fire service spokesman said it was a "well-executed forced landing" with no harm to the plane, two passengers and environment.

A witness at the scene said they were either going to try and fix the plane to fly it out of the paddock, or drag it out.

A Civil Aviation Authority spokeswoman said they were notified of the incident at about 8.25am today.

"The operator will give us a report and we'll decide then if we need to investigate any aspect of this incident but it seems to have been a textbook landing," she said.