Plane crash in Kinglassie village field after cockpit opens in mid-air

A pilot was forced to crash his plane into a village field after the cockpit opened in mid-air.

Emergency services were called to a field near Kinglassie, around two miles south-west of Glenrothes, just before 11am on Monday.

David McKay, of car delivery business Fife Vehicle Transport, was driving to work when he saw the small aircraft do a “somersault” before crashing into a field north of the village.

He and his colleagues rushed to the scene, where they found the shaken pilot uninjured, who revealed that he crashed after his cockpit opened in mid-air.

No one was injured as a result of the incident. Fife Jammer Locations

He told STV News said: “I was driving through Kinglassie when I saw a plane doing a somersault in the air before going down.

“I said to the boys, ‘there’s been a plane crash in front of us’ – and none of them had even noticed.

“I’ve got a jeep and a trailer, so we drove up to help. When I got there, it was just one pilot. He was a bit shaken but he was okay.

“He told me the cockpit opened mid-air, so he tried to shut it and that’s how he crashed.

“It turns out he was just on his way to work. He is very lucky to be alive to be honest. It’s a scary one.”

Emergency services remain at the scene, and police are diverting traffic away from the village.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Officers were called to reports of a light aircraft crashing in a field near Kinglassie at around 10.55am on Monday, August 1, 2022.

“There have been no reported injuries. Emergency services are at the scene to clear the area.”

A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “We can confirm we are in the area responding to an incident, after receiving a call at 10.57am.”