A pilot has severe burns on most of his body and broken bones after his plane crashed and exploded into flames near Maitland in the New South Wales Hunter Valley.
A specialist team on board the Westpac Rescue Helicopter has flown the Hinton man, believed to be in his 40s, to Royal North Shore Hospital in a critical condition.
The Cessna light plane crashed at Luskintyre, north-west of Maitland, just before 2pm today.
The plane reportedly exploded and burst into flames as it crashed on approach to the airstrip at Luskintyre Airport.
New South Wales Ambulance said the man was found outside the aircraft, near the wreckage, with severe burns to 80 per cent of his body and multiple fractures.
There are no other reports of injuries, and he was the only person on board the aircraft.
