A 48-YEAR-OLD pilot had a lucky escape when his light aircraft crash landed after he failed to complete an aerobatic loop at Cotswold Airport near Kemble on Tuesday afternoon.

The Belgian pilot suffered two fractured vertebrae and serious burns after his stunt failed just before 3pm.

He was airlifted to Bristol’s Frenchay Hospital.

Suzannah Harvey, CEO at the airport, paid tribute to the emergency crews today, adding the airport would be closed until 9am on Friday while the area is cleared and made safe.

Wiltshire and Great Western Air Ambulances (GWAA) arrived at around 3.15pm and a critical care paramedic and a critical care doctor aboard the GWAA anaesthetised the pilot before accompanying him to hospital.

The family of the pilot, who was the only person aboard the plane, has been informed.

The Great Western hazardous area response team were the first ambulance on the scene as they had been stood down from another incident nearby.

Fire crews from Cirencester and Tetbury also attended the crash.

Alan Brown, an aircraft enthusiast from Siddington, was out plane spotting when the crash happened.

"I wasn’t here at the time but I talked to someone who saw it – he said it came out of a loop and just went straight down into the ground," said Mr Brown.

"There were two air ambulances and all kinds of emergency services here right afterwards.

It has since been confirmed that the plane was a German OV10 Bronco which had been on display at Fairford Air Tattoo weekend.

An investigation by the Air Accident Investigation branch of the Department of Transport is underway.