A COUPLE escaped injury yesterday when their single-engine aircraft crashed in Co Meath.
The two had just taken off from Trim airport at Robinstown near the town when engine failure struck their Piper PA 28 aircraft, forcing the pilot to crash land in a nearby barley field.
The plane managed to clear a row of trees before ploughing into the ground and ending up 500 metres from the end of the airstrip where the aircraft is based.
The occupants were taken to Our Lady's hospital in Navan but were later discharged. Weather conditions were fine when the incident occurred.
However, Trim airfield had reopened only yesterday after being closed since Saturday due to soft ground resulting from the recent heavy rain.
It is understood the crashed aircraft had just received its airworthyness certificate three weeks ago.
Gardaí sealed off the crash site and an air accident investigation unit team started an examination of the aircraft at 4pm yesterday.
A spokesman for the air accident investigation unit, based at the Department of Transport in Dublin, said: "The accident involving a private flight happened at around 2pm.
"The engine stopped shortly after take-off and the pilot carried out a forced landing in a nearby field."