Plane crash-lands, two people trapped in cockpit as field burns

Two people have suffered life-threatening injuries after a light plane crash-landed at an airfield about 55 kilometres south of Brisbane.

Emergency services were called shortly before 6am on Tuesday, to reports the plane had crash-landed and skidded off the end of the runway at Heck Field, an airstrip within the Gold Coast Sports Flying Club at Jacob Wells.

Two people, the pilot and a passenger, were pulled from the plane, with ambulance, police, and fire crews attending the scene.

Paramedics said the pair suffered life-threatening injuries.

Fire crews said the plane came to rest in bushland off the end of the runway, and a plume of smoke was seen rising from the aircraft.

Grassland surrounding the plane caught fire and the two people were trapped within the cockpit.

The Gold Coast Sport Flying Club is on Stapylton Jacobs Well Road on the site of a former cane field, and was converted to a runway in the late 1980s.

The club website said its Heck Field runways were used by a range of pilots, including recreational and sport pilots, and “private and commercial enthusiasts”.

“Members of GCSFC take to the skies in a wide variety of aircraft – from light sport planes and ultralights to trikes and classic fixed‑wing singles – all year round,” according to the club website.

The airfield had been a filming location for several movies, including San Andreas and Dora and the Lost City of Gold.

Surrounding properties continue to operate as sugarcane farms, and access is via a 400-metre dirt drive.

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