Pilot Suffers Critical Injuries In Light Plane Crash At Luskintyre

 BY IAN CROUCH

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has launched an investigation into the crash of a light aircraft at Luskintyre near Maitland which left the pilot with serious burns and fractures.

A 48-year-old man from Hinton suffered burns to 80 percent of his body when the Mooney light aircraft crashed and exploded in flames at about 2.00pm on Monday.

NSW Ambulance Inspector Jake Broughton-Rouse says the man was out of the aircraft when paramedics arrived.

He was placed in an induced coma and flown to the burns unit at Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital by the region's Westpac Rescue Helicopter.

The 48-year-old pilot suffered critical burns in the crash Picture: NSW Ambulance

Home Destroyed By Fire At Luskintyre

BY IAN CROUCH

An investigation is under way into the cause of a fire which guttered a home at Luskintyre near Maitland last night.

NSW and Rural Fire Service crews arrived at the brick home on Luskinytyre Road just after 7.00pm on Thursday to find the property well alight.

The roof of the home collapsed at the height of the blaze with crews taking about 3 hours to extinguish the flames.

They were hampered by water supply issues, relying on tankers from the RFS to battle the intense fire.

No-one was injured - police are treating the fire as suspicious.