A prominent Irish businessman was last night in a critical condition following a light plane crash which claimed the life of another man.

Michael Slazenger, whose family has owned the Powerscourt House and estate in Wicklow since 1961, was one of two men on the plane, which crashed shortly after 3pm yesterday in Powerscourt estate, adjacent to the golf course.

Slazenger (69) was airlifted to Tallaght Hospital and later transferred to St James Hospital. Noel Whitney (66), from Cabinteely, Co Dublin, was pronounced dead at the scene. There will be a post-mortem on his body tomorrow. Emergency units from the gardaí, ambulance service and coastguard attended the scene. Witnesses said the plane burst into flames after apparently crashing into a tree.

The Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAUI) of the Department of Transport will now investigate how the single-engine aircraft came into
difficulty. Garda sources said last night they could not definitively determine who was piloting the aircraft.

It is thought the two were out on a private lesson at the time when the plane crashed close to the airstrip which is owned by Slazenger.

He is understood to be an experienced pilot. Golfers in the nearby golf club who
witnessed the crash will now be interviewed by gardaí.

The Slazenger family started the tennis-racket company of the same name. Slazenger retired as a doctor four years ago. A spokesman for Powerscourt last night declined to comment.