A pilot who crashed a light plane near Thames this afternoon is believed to have suffered sunstrike before hitting power lines.
The crash happened as the pilot was coming in to land at the Thames Airfield. Photo: Google Maps
The man survived largely unscathed.
Emergency services were called to the scene on Ngāti Maru Highway at 12.45pm.
Hauraki Aero Club vice-president Geoff Furkert said the pilot was on a solo training flight around the Thames Airfield, practising circuits, and was coming in to land.
"To do that you have to cross the Ngāti Maru Highway and there's some high tension powerlines running along the eastern side of the highway," he said.
"And he said that as he turned to come in on final, which is the last leg into the airfield, he got sunstrike.
"He couldn't see the powerlines when he got close to them, so he hit the powerlines probably with his wheels. The plane didn't flip or anything like that, it just sort of sank and went flat on the ground, so he's fine."
Furkert said the club members were "incredibly pleased" the pilot was alive and well.
The road was temporarily closed while the aircraft was removed, but reopened at 2pm.