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Small plane crashes near Blumenort, Man., pilot airlifted to hospital with ‘broken bones’ says witness

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Small plane crashes near Blumenort, Man., pilot airlifted to hospital
A small plane crashed near Blumenort in rural Manitoba Monday – May 13, 2019

An ultralight plane crashed near Blumenort in rural Manitoba Monday.

Steinbach Fire Department confirmed they were called to the scene of the crash just east of the town at about 10:15 a.m. to help.

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Manitoba Hydro also said they were on scene.

“At around 10 this morning, an ultralight airplane crashed into trees and a power line 3km east of Blumenort. We had to deenergize the line as fire crews rescued the pilot,” they tweeted.

STARS Air Ambulance said they were dispatched as well to care for the pilot.

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“The members of the Steinbach Fire Department used their ladder truck to extricate a 64-year-old male from the aircraft, which had landed in a tree and hydro lines,” they said.

The ultralight aircraft after being removed from the tree. Joe Scarpelli/Global News

The pilot was airlifted to Health Sciences Centre in stable condition, they added.

Andres Villarreal owns the land where the plane crashed and said Monday afternoon the pilot was stuck in the tree for about 45 minutes.

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“What happened is a ultralight, it came very low and crashed in these trees right beside the the hydro poles,” he said. “And he was very badly injured, the police, the fire department, everybody come … They pulled it out. And he, I believe he got some broken bones.”

Villarreal said he knew the pilot from swimming at the local pool daily, and that recognition helped him calm the pilot down and even drew a laugh.

“He said, ‘You are Andres.’ And I said ‘Yeah.’ [He said] ‘What are you doing down there?’ It was very funny.

“I was trying to [tell him] ‘Calm down, calm down, don’t move,’ because I was scared for the power lines.”
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Blumenort is about 45 km southeast of Winnipeg.

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