An ultralight pilot was successfully rescued after colliding with a hydro line this morning.

Steinbach Deputy Fire Chief Ron Chausse says his crews were called to the scene 2 miles east of Blumenort at a residence on Blumenhof road at roughly 10:15 AM. He says firefighters were able to quickly dislodge the pilot from the plane so he could be transported to hospital by STARS Air Ambulance.

STARS has since confirmed that the 64-year-old male pilot was in stable condition at the time of transportation.

Meanwhile, Les Zaluski was doing some mechanic work on the property where the accident occurred and says he witnessed the whole thing.

STARS transported the pilot to hospital.

“I saw an ultralight flying low over the shop,” explains Zaluski, “I don’t know if it was a gust of wind that caught him, but I could see he hammered on the power when he realized he was too low. Then the wing caught the tree and spun him around and smashed him into the hydro pole.”

According to Zaluski, the hydro pole began sparking as the pilot hung from his aircraft asking for help. Recognizing the severity of the situation, Zaluski immediately dialed 911.

“The adrenaline was flowing," he comments, "I mean, you see something like this happen and you know you’re useless because you really can’t do anything except call for help.”

Chausse says Steinbach Fire crews and the city’s new Technical Rescue Unit arrived shortly after they received the call

“The risk was significant,” says Chausse of the situation, “but we had to go.”

Chausse commends his crews for safely removing the pilot from the tangle of wires, tree branches, and the ultralight harness itself, and admits that Steinbach’s new rescue truck and equipment certainly facilitated the process.

Manitoba Hydro remained on scene long after emergency crews in order to cut free the ultralight from its precarious spot in the trees and restore power to some of the surrounding houses.

Zaluski says his workshop will be without power until Manitoba Hydro is able to fix the downed wires.

Emergency crews were able to safely remove the pilot from the ultralight.