KEY POINTS:
Three people cheated death in a plane crash at the Fox Glacier airfield just before 1pm today.
Initial reports from the crash site said two passengers scrambled out of the wreck.
The pilot was trapped inside briefly but was soon freed.
A St John spokesman said the pilot suffered a punctured lung and but two passengers got away with barely a scratch.
Electricity was out in the township and a staff member from the Fox Glacier Hotel, directly opposite the airfield, said the plane must have hit power lines.
The power cut meant the Fox Glacier volunteer fire brigade did not get the call-out, so emergency personnel from Greymouth to Franz Josef were called to the scene, although fire brigades were later turned back.
The Solid Energy Rescue Helicopter headed to the scene soon after 1pm.
Fox Glacier fire chief John Sullivan was still out on his farm after the accident.
"There was no power and no alarms for the fire brigade."
Some witnesses speculated that the crashed plane was involved in sky diving.
- NZPA
