THE PSNI, Fire Service and NI Ambulance Service are dealing with a plane crash at Newtownards Airfield.

The airport says “emergency protocols” are being deployed at the airport this lunchtime.

The alarm was raised around 11.20 am when a light aircraft crashed off the runway.

Fire crews from the local Ards station rushed to the scene and plucked a man from the aircraft.

Paramedic teams tended to the man at the scene before he was taken away to the Ulster Hospital in Dundonald.

The extent of his injuries are no yet known.

A full investigation is underway.

The Civil Aviation Authority’s Air Accident Investigation Branch will also be asked to probe the crash.