Hilo Man Seriously Injured in Small Plane Crash

Hawai'i Island, aerial file photo by Wendy Osher.

By Wendy Osher

A 68-year-old Hilo man is in serious condition following a small plane crash in Oʻokala this morning.

The incident was reported at 10:45 a.m. near the 30-mile marker of Route 19 (Hawaii Belt Road).

The man was the lone-occupant aboard the craft when it crash landed.

Hawaiʻi Police from the North Hilo District say the man attempted an emergency landing onto a newly planted corn field after his two-seat single-engine propeller airplane reportedly lost power due to engine failure.

North Hilo officers responded to the scene along with Fire Department rescue personnel, who extricated the man from the plane and airlifted him to North Hawaiʻi Community Hospital for treatment.

North Hilo police say an investigator from the Federal Aviation Administration is expected to arrive at the scene later today.