A pilot was taken to hospital in Aberdeen with serious injuries after his microlight aircraft crashed into a north-east field.
Emergency services were called to the incident at an airfield at Premnay, near Insch, at 11.10am yesterday.
The aircraft was taking off from Grampian Microlight and Flying Club’s private airstrip when disaster struck.
Seconds later the pilot, who was the only person in the aircraft at the time, crashed into a nearby field of oilseed rape.
Airfield operator Ken Wood watched the drama unfold from the clubhouse.
He said: “He had just taken off and was going from here up to Boyndie in Banff.
“I have no idea what happened.
“He was airborne at around 300ft and he seemed to lose power and he did a forced landing in the field.
“We were in the clubhouse and the first thing we did was to dial 999.
“Then we went down to the scene and made him comfortable until the ambulance arrived.
“He was conscious and speaking away fine.
“The aircraft was badly damaged.
Mr Wood said an investigation would now be carried out by the Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) into what had caused the crash.
He added: “We are just waiting to hear from them whether we are allowed to move it.
“We can’t do anything until they give us the all-clear.”
The pilot, who is believed to be a man in his fifties and a member of the club, was taken by ambulance to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
Police said his injuries were serious but are not believed to be life-threatening.
Two fire crews from Inverurie and Huntly were also sent to the crash.
A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: “It has crashed in a field near Premnay Air Strip.
“We just made the aircraft safe.”
Last year, an 81-year-old pilot also had a lucky escape when the light aircraft he was flying crashed into a fence and landed on its roof at the same airfield.
The pilot, who had 270 hours flying experience, had flown solo from Inverness Airport in a Druine D62A Condor aircraft.
But things started to go badly wrong during his descent.
The aircraft stalled and descended rapidly to the left, leaving insufficient height to recover.
It then struck a fence and overturned.
Airfield personnel rushed to the scene and helped the pilot to free himself from the wreckage.
Although he received immediate medical assistance, he was found to be uninjured.
Yesterday’s accident is the second microlight crash in Scotland in under a fortnight.
A man sustained serious leg injuries and a woman suffered chest injuries when their aircraft crashed near Oban on August 2.
Both were rescued and taken to hospital after their microlight, which had taken off from Mull, came down near the village of Benderloch in Argyll and Bute just before 11am.
The Breezer B600 aircraft had been due to stop at Oban Airport to refuel before heading to Barra when it got into difficulty.