Crashed aircraft's engine was 'in poor condition and well overdue an overhaul'

The pilot, who was the sole occupant of the aircraft, sustained serious injuries and was  brought by ambulance to St Luke’s Hospital in Kilkenny. File picture: Denis Minihane

The engine of a microlight aircraft that crashed in a field in Co. Kilkenny last year was in “a generally very poor condition and overdue a complete overhaul,” an investigation has found.

The 45-year-old pilot sustained serious injuries in a forced landing in the small aircraft during a local circuit flight from a private grass airstrip near Woolengrange, Co. Kilkenny, on March 2, 2021.