An elderly man who was seriously injured when a light aircraft crashed in Co Limerick earlier this month has died in hospital.
Englishman Mr Godfrey Bush (85) was a passenger in the newly-refurbished Beechcraft along with his wife, Mavis, and their pilot when the aircraft crashed on take-off from Ballyneale stud farm in Ballingarry, Co Limerick, on the morning of August 9th.
Mr Bush died in the intensive care unit of the Mid-Western Regional Hospital on Sunday night. A post-mortem examination was carried out on the victim yesterday.
Mr Bush's wife, who is in her 70s, is believed to have sustained head injuries and to have cracked a vertebra in the accident. She was discharged from hospital at the weekend.
The 27-year-old pilot discharged himself to hospital in England for treatment. His injuries are understood to include cracked vertebrae.
The aircraft lifted off the ground and flew for about 200 or 300 yards before coming down in a field. It was badly damaged on impact and the left wing was ripped off.
It had taken off from what was described as a "magnificient grass runway" in good weather conditions except for a light northerly wind.
The pilot had flown from England to deliver the refurbished aircraft to its purchaser, stud owner Mr David Pearl, a wealthy London businessman. He was flying Mr Pearl's father-in-law and mother-in-law to Gloucester when the accident occurred on the 200-acre stud farm.
The alarm was raised by air traffic control at Shannon Airport and the emergency services removed the three people to hospital.
The air accident investigation unit from the Department of Transport removed the wrecked plane to the unit's test facility in Gormanston, Co Meath, for examination. A report on the accident is expected to be issued in about six months' time.