KEY POINTS:
An elderly man was left hanging upside down trapped in his glider for about 30 minutes after it crashed in Southland last night.
The 70-year-old was on a pilot training exercise when he crashed at Five Rivers, north of Lumsden, just before 7pm.
Senior sergeant Dave Raynes of Invercargill police said the glider flipped and the pilot was trapped for about half an hour before he was cut out of the wreckage.
The pilot, a retired doctor, was flown to hospital with head, leg and shoulder injuries.
Mr Raynes said he spoke to the pilot in hospital this morning and he was in good spirits before minor surgery to his leg today.
"He was very positive. He is very lucky to be alive."
The Civil Aviation Authority is investigating the crash.
- NZPA
