A man and a woman died after a microlight plane crashed into a roadside ditch near Te Puke yesterday afternoon.
Residents of the rural area reported hearing an engine revving followed by a bang as the plane hit the ground.
The man was killed instantly. The woman suffered serious injuries and died
later.
The pair, whose trips in the microlight were a familiar sight in the area, are believed to have been trying to land to visit a relative on a property near the crash site.
Victim Support counsellors were sent to the area yesterday to comfort witnesses to the crash.
Police said the cause of the accident was not known. However, accident inspectors were due at the scene last night to begin their investigations.
Family were identifying the bodies of the couple.
The aircraft went down shortly before 3 pm. The crash site is 7km south-west of Te Puke.
PICTURED: Constable Robert Barker with the microlight, which had been a familiar sight in the area.
HERALD PICTURE / NICOLA TOPPING
