An elderly pilot has died after the light aircraft he was piloting crashed in a field near Dungarvan, Co Waterford on Monday afternoon.
The man was the sole occupant of the plane which crashed into a field adjacent to the N25 main Dungarvan to Waterford road at Knocknagranagh, east of Dungarvan just before 4.45pm.
The emergency services were alerted and the Irish Coastguard Sikorsky helicopter, Rescue 117, was dispatched to the scene of the crash.
However, the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Supt Mick Leacy of Dungarvan Garda Station confirmed the body of the man was removed to University Hospital Waterford for a post-mortem examination on Tuesday.
The Air Accident Investigation Unit have sent investigators to examine the wreckage of the plane, which was badly damaged in the crash, and to examine the crash site.
Supt Leacy confirmed the main N25 Dungarvan to Waterford road had been closed and diversions put in place to facilitate the emergency operation and the recovery operation.
No details have been released regarding the man, but it is understood he was a member of the Waterford Aero Club which operates out of Waterford Regional Airport at Killowen.
The fatality is the second to have occurred in Co Waterford in the last two years and follows the death of well-known aviator, Howard Cox, (67), who was killed in a plane crash, also near Dungarvan.
It’s believed Mr Cox was killed instantly when his BD5, described as a “home-built mini jet”, crashed in a field north of Dungarvan close to the Co Waterford coastline on July 25th, 2015.
Mr Cox, a married father-of-one from Devon in England, was a regular visitor to Ireland, operating out of Waterford Aero Club and was on his way to a Foynes Air Show in Co Limerick when he died.
