A student pilot and his instructor are recovering from a crash that destroyed a small plane during flight training exercises at Lakeville's Airlake Airport Tuesday evening.

The student pilot, John R. Pedersen, remained in serious condition Wednesday afternoon at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, a hospital spokeswoman said. No further information was available from the hospital, but the Dakota County sheriff's office has said Pedersen hurt his leg.

Chief pilot Scott D. Johnson, 46, of Eagan, was treated at Fairview Ridges hospital in Burnsville for less-serious injuries. Johnson is a chief pilot with LSA North Inc. in Lakeville, which is a sport flight school and seller of light sport aircraft.

"We will both be OK," Johnson said in an e-mail Wednesday evening to the Star Tribune. "I have a few cuts and bruises, John has a broken ankle." The Light Sports Evektor plane was at the end of the runway when it crashed at the airport about 22 miles south of the Twin Cities on Tuesday, officials said.

The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating.

Airlake Airport serves private and recreational pilots and features a single 4,098-foot runway, according to its website. The airport is equipped with an instrument landing system suited for flight training and handles more than 39,000 landings and takeoffs each year.

JOY POWELL