Engine failure caused Perth plane crash

Engine failure caused a light plane to crash into an oval next to a high school in Perth's southern suburbs, seriously injuring the pilot and passenger, an aviation safety report has revealed.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau report linked modifications to the amateur-built aircraft's electronic ignition to the December 2013 crash, which left the pilot Tony White and passenger Ralph Lerch with serious burns.

The bureau found the aircraft's engine stopped without warning shortly after takeoff from Jandakot Airport, causing the pilot to make a forced landing on a public oval next to Lakeland Senior High School in South Lake.

The Stoddard-Hamilton Glasair III narrowly avoided powerlines before colliding with a metal goal post, when the left wing fuel tank ruptured and ignited as the fuselage tumbled across the oval.

"The pilot recalled hearing the sound of the impact, then next remembered lying on the ground and seeing the passenger nearby and the aircraft wreckage on fire," the report read.

Witnesses reported seeing a fireball as the plane broke apart on the playing field.

Several rushed to assist the two occupants who had been released from the wreckage as their seatbelt attachments dislodged from the burning fuselage.