Pilot killed in light plane crash at Tampere-Pirkkala airport

A light aircraft crashed on Wednesday evening at the Tampere-Pirkkala airport.

A pilot trainee, who was alone on the aircraft, was killed, transport officials reported.

The aircraft had dropped head-on to the airfield while trying to take off. Director of the airport Mari Nurminen told media the aircraft was "ultra light".

Rescue services were alerted at 20:54 local time. Due to the accident, an incoming Ryanair flight from Budapest (FR1027) was diverted to Turku, some 200 kms southwest of Tampere.

Jani Hottola, the general aviation coordinator at Traficom, or the Finnish transport authority, said the trainee was taking the solo flight segment that was part of the training program. Hottola said the trainee had not yet completed his tuition, but had the permission to fly alone.

Tampere-Pirkkala is a joint civilian and military airport, located south of the city of Tampere.

This was the second fatal small aircraft accident within a week in Finland. Last Sunday a hobbyist-construction aircraft crashed near Kajaani, killing a pilot.