Trainee glider pilot critical after crash

Ryan Hodgkinson was taking part in an Air Training Corps camp when the glider he was in crashed. Photo / Supplied

A teenage trainee pilot remains in a critical condition in intensive care today as an investigation continues into last night's glider crash in the Waikato.

Christchurch boy Ryan Hodgkinson, 14, flying with 77-year-old instructor Thomas Orr, landed short of the runway at Matamata Aerodome in Waharoa around 5pm.

Westpac Waikato Air Ambulance pilot Dan Harcourt said staff had to cut the nose of the glider away to free the teenager from the wreck.

Ryan suffered serious injuries and was airlifted to Waikato Hospital.

He was in a critical but stable condition, and his family was with him, a hospital spokeswoman said today.

A student at Christchurch's Middleton Grange School, he was taking part in an Air Training Corps (ATC) camp.

Mr Orr, from Taupo, suffered moderate back injuries and was also taken to hospital for treatment.

He was progressing well in a ward, Waikato Hospital communications director Mary Anne Gill said.

Ryan's father, Ian Hodgkinson, said today the family was hoping for a good outcome.

"He's a very sporty boy so hopefully he'll have a very quick recovery," he said in a statement.

Waikato Hospital trauma specialist Dr Grant Christey said Ryan sustained "multiple severe multisystem injuries".

He was undergoing "further investigations and treatment with regard to his injuries".

Mr Orr's wife, former Taupo mayor Joan Williamson-Orr, said the couple's thoughts were with Ryan.

Air Force media adviser Squadron Leader Kavae Tamariki said the ATC camp was to give cadets experience with gliders.

It was attended by cadets from throughout New Zealand.

Matamata police Sergeant Graham McGurk said a number of people witnessed the crash which happened about one kilometre away from the southern end of the airfield.

The Civil Aviation Authority is investigating how the accident occurred.

Commandant Guy Bendall, of the New Zealand Cadet Forces, said last night Ryan was one of 20 teens from around the country taking part in the camp.

The glider crashed minutes after takeoff but he did not know who was in control at the time of the accident, he told the Dominion Post.

- NZPA