Pilot in Perth hospital with head injury

A man aged in his 60s has been flown to hospital with a head injury after crashing his small plane at an airfield.

Police said the man's Hummel Bird amateur-built aircraft ploughed into bushland at the end of a runway at Perth's Serpentine Airfield in Hopeland on Friday afternoon.

A St John Ambulance spokesman said the pilot was conscious and breathing when paramedics were called.

He was flown by helicopter to Royal Perth Hospital.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said the engine of the three-metre aircraft failed during or shortly after takeoff.

The bureau is gathering information about the crash.