Firefighters gathered around the small, broken biplane near the end of Craig Field’s runway.

Working in the afternoon sun and surrounded by foam and water, they focused on the front right wheel, trying to brace it enough that they could tow the single engine plane off of the runway, clearing the way for the airport to resume operations.

After stopping at the airfield to refuel, 58-year-old Steve Seamon was taking off, reportedly on his way to Chicago from Florida where he’d recently bought the plane, named ‘Afternoon Delight.’

According to eyewitness Brenda Hunter, the plane returned to the runway shortly after takeoff.

“It happened so quick,” said Hunter, who watched the crash from her security post outside Meadowcraft. “It got pretty high up in the air, but then it came back down too quick.”

Seamon was injured in the crash and taken to Vaughan Regional Medical Center where his condition was listed as fair as of presstime.

Hunter said Seamon was able to walk after the crash, though she could see he was obviously injured even from her vantage point across the wide field between the runway and Meadowcraft.

She said she first saw the pilot on the ground.

“I don’t know if he was thrown out or if he climbed out,” Hunter said. “But, then he got up and started walking around for a bit, then he fell back down.”

Hunter said an ambulance; several fire trucks and rescue squad personnel were quickly on the scene.

The front of the plane appeared to suffer the bulk of the damage. In addition to the broken wheel support, the propeller was badly bent on one side and the nose of the plane crumbled in on the right side as well.

The plane is registered to Alfonse Hartman of Florida, according to landings.com, an aviation database Web site.

The plane is listed as being amateur built, according to the site, in 2003.

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contributed to this report.