From staff and wire reports

A Maine pilot was in critical condition at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston following the Saturday-morning crash of an ultralight aircraft in Benton.

Gary Seiders, 49, of Sidney suffered multiple injuries when his ultralight crashed at Gowers Airfield on Route 139 in the Kennebec County town.

Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety, said Seiders suffered significant internal injuries.

McCausland said the ultralight aircraft was about 200 feet in the air when its engine quit. It crashed nose first into a field. McCausland said, “There was gasoline in it, so it did not run out of gas.”

Seiders was taken to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston for treatment of his injuries. A nursing supervisor said Sunday night that Seiders was in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

McCausland said the FAA doesn’t investigate ultralight crashes since the aircraft are not required to register with the agency.

In another Saturday accident, pilot Marc McDonnell, 51, of Winthrop died when his Cessna 172 plunged into a field off Old Lewiston Road about 9:20 a.m. He was the plane’s lone occupant.

“According to witnesses on the ground, (McDonnell) banked to steer away from a house,” said Winthrop Police Capt. Ryan Frost.

No one on the ground was injured.

McDonnell was believed to have taken off from an airstrip in Livermore Falls. There are no public airports there, but some could accommodate landings and takeoffs by small planes.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the wreck.

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