Fire crews are dampening down a large tussock fire caused by a light plane crash at Banks Peninsula near Christchurch.
The blaze started when the four-seater Cherokee crashed into a paddock on Kaitorete Spit after clipping a power line about 11am on Friday.
The aircraft is owned by the Canterbury Aero Club and the two occupants, a student pilot and an instructor, escaped unharmed.
The Fire Service says the fire covered one square kilometre but no buildings are in danger.
However, four properties are without power.
