Pilot dead after aircraft crashes near Blenheim

9.50pm

UPDATE - The male pilot was killed when his aircraft plummeted into the ground near Blenheim late this afternoon.

The home-built light plane crashed near an air force and navy training camp being held on farmland in the Waihopai Valley, 20km west of Blenheim.

Eyewitnesses said the plane came down in a gully.

It was "a crumpled wreck" and looked as though it had landed nose-first on the ground.

Police said it was believed that the pilot died on impact.

Inquiries were being made to contact next-of-kin, before his name was released.

The Blenheim coroner had been informed.

The Civil Aviation Authority said the accident happened just before 5pm.

The area had been sealed off pending a full investigation starting tomorrow.

- NZPA