By Alan Richardson

A PILOT and passenger escaped serious injury despite crashing their light aircraft close to Perth airport yesterday.

Emergency services were summoned after the pair—men aged 64 and 57—brought their plane down in a field next to the airport after experiencing a power failure near Scone shortly before midday.

Reports suggested the men were travelling in a 78-year-old De Havilland DH60G Gypsy Moth, which landed just a few hundred yards from houses.

Although Tayside Fire and Rescue were called, both people had freed themselves from the plane by the time they arrived.

They were taken by ambulance to Perth Royal Infirmary for medical checks.

Allan Weatherston (28), who works near the airport, saw the drama unfold.

He said, “The plane started to struggle as soon as it took off.

“They were having some sort of mechanical problems and had to turn back, but they didn’t make it as far as the runway.

“They have landed nose first in the field as they made their approach.”

A police spokesman said the biplane “got into difficulties shortly after take-off and was forced to make an emergency landing in a nearby field.”

He added, “Initial inquiry would indicate that the plane suffered from loss of power due to mechanical failure, however, further investigation is on-going.”

The plane is believed to have been privately owned and the airport, which runs mainly training flights, did not have to close at any time during the incident.

Residents spoke of hearing the biplane “struggling” when it came down in land north of Perth airport shortly after its take-off.

The Gypsy Moth crash-landed in a field of oil seed rape after flying over several properties in Rait Road, Balbeggie.

Michele Frater (56), of Rait Road, told The Courier, “I was in my garden and could hear the plane was flying very low and thought to myself, good grief, how low can they get.

“I am used to seeing the planes going over here but felt this one was flying extremely low.

“It sounded like it had lost its power.”

Another neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, added, “I was doing some gardening at the time and saw the plane go up from Perth airport.

“Then I thought it sounded pretty sluggish.

“At that point I thought it was strange that there was no noise and realised it had come down.

“Fortunately the people seem to be okay.”

And a nearby resident said, “It crashed into the field with the tail sticking up. It was clearly visible from the road.

“It looked like a piece of modern art the way it was lying in the field.”

A fire and rescue spokesman said a command support unit from Dundee had been requested but wasn’t required.

“The unit weren’t needed so we had two appliances from Perth and one heavy rescue unit,” he said.

“We were told that the men had managed to get themselves out before we arrived, so it was a case of making sure the plane was assessed.”

A spokesman for the police last night said the aircraft had suffered a loss of power shortly after take-off.

He added that inquiries were continuing into the matter.

The accident mirrors a similar crash that occurred just over two years ago.

A single-engine twin-seater Zenair 601 aircraft came down in a field near St Martins on April 23, 2006.

The pilot had run short of the runway of the nearby Perth airport but escaped with minor injuries.

He managed to glide his plane into a ploughed field.