Two injured when light plane crashes on SH1

Two occupants of a light aircraft escaped with moderate burns when the plane crashed and burst into flames on State Highway 1 near Taupo about 3.45pm, police say.

Both occupants were flown to Waikato Hospital, Inspector Barry Smalley of police central communications said.

The highway was open southbound, while shortly before 5pm northbound traffic was being diverted.

The crash happened at Motutere on the eastern shoreline of Lake Taupo, about 30km southwest of Taupo.

Senior Sergeant Tony Jeurissen of Taupo police said he understood the plane may have been flying in a southerly direction and may have clipped some wires either side of the highway while descending to the road.

"Then it's bounced off the road, back up onto the wires, and then off to the side of the road," he told National Radio.

It was hard to tell what kind of plane was involved as it had "disintegrated".

Mr Jeurissen agreed it was "amazing" no one else had been hit on the busy stretch of road, with school buses among the traffic using it at the time.

He had arrived at the scene about 4pm and there had been a strong smell of fumes, burning, and toxic gases.


A motorist who arrived at the scene shortly after the crash said locals had bathed the two injured occupants of the plane in the lake, which was only about 10m from the crash site, until an ambulance arrived.


The ambulance turned up a minute or two later, he told National Radio.


He had noticed a column of quite dark, acrid smoke coming from the tree tops as he approached the spot.


"We came round a few more corners and there it was, about 20m in front of us, the wreckage of a small light aircraft," he told National Radio.


The wreckage had been on fire.


"Things started sort of sizzling and exploding and then we were told to stand back because of the toxic fumes.


"When the fire engines arrived they covered it in foam and got everything under control," he said.


When he first saw the scene he had thought he was looking at car that had been involved in a horrendous crash.


"We weren't too sure what it was because basically the wreckage was quite low to the ground. There wasn't a heap of it. It looked like it must have been quite a small aircraft," he said.


"It looks like it's actually hit the road and veered off to the left and struck a wall of a resident's property. Obviously it must have been out of control but it looks like it has managed to swerve away from maybe some oncoming traffic."

- NZPA