The wife of a Cornish pilot who smashed his home-made plane into the ground at the weekend has spoken of her husband's "lucky escape".

Mike Hanley suffered head injuries and broken breast bone and ribs after he crashed his "Kitfox" single seater light aircraft into a field as he attempted to land at a private airstrip at Woodlands Barton Farm, near Roche.

The 59-year-old, from Penstraze, Blackwater, was airlifted to hospital and an investigation into the cause of the crash was immediately launched.

Speaking to the Packet, his wife Jan said: "He had a lucky escape, obviously. He's in Treliske, he's sitting up, he's doing well, he'll probably be out by the end of the week."

Eyewitness accounts suggested Mr Hanley's plane stalled as he attempted to land it. The aircraft came crashing down just before 3pm on Sunday. However, Mrs Hanley has refuted suggestions that the incident occurred because of the build of the plane or a "fault".

She said her husband was an "experienced pilot" and the incident had simply been "unfortunate".

"We just think it was something to do with the weather. Things just didn't go right."

Mr Hanley is a member of a small social group who meet at Woodlands Barton Farm and use a small private airstrip there.

Although Mr Hanley had built the plane, it was common for microlites to come in kit form, said Mrs Hanley, and her husband's pastime was helping others to build their own light aircraft.

"He's a very experienced pilot - he's been flying for years and years. Everybody who knows him knows it's not down to the build. He was just unlucky, no major deal. He's fine and that's the most important thing."

Mrs Hanley told the Packet the merest "gust of wind" may have led to the incident and said her husband could not remember.

Mr Hanley, from Blackwater near Truro, had to be airlifted to hospital by air ambulance following the crash.

Meanwhile the plane was made safe by firefighters from St Dennis and Bodmin after it was feared it could go up in flames.

"It was in a field adjacent to the actual landing field, was quite badly damaged and obviously hit the ground with some force," said firefighter Roger Best, from St Dennis.

"Everything was made safe and the scene was then handed over to the police."

A full investigation by the Air Accidents Investigations Branch (AAIB) was subsequently launched.