A small homemade plane crashed on Highway 25 in Terrebonne, north of Laval, at 10:30 Saturday morning.

A man in his fifties suffered severe burns after the wing of his ultra-light aircraft became entangled in the guard rail of the median on the highway. Over 80 per cent of his body is severely burned, but he is expected to survive, said police.

The Surete du Quebec was unclear as to the cause of the accident.

"Is it a problem engine or something like that? It's really to early to have any conclusion about that," said SQ Sgt. Claude Denis.

The plane took off from the Mascouche Airport, a few kilometres from the site of the crash, just south of Highway 640.

Traffic was rerouted for several hours after emergency crews rushed to the scene.

Pilots at Mascouche Airport said the maintenance regulations for ultra-light planes are very different from those of certified aircrafts, which require maintenance schedules based on flight hours and time between inspections. Further, certified mechanics are required to make inspections.

"You've got a lot of home-built aircraft out there. People with the ultra-lights, they can maintain their own aircraft," said David Murray, a pilot for 36 years.

Murray said the two most common causes of crashes are pilot error and mechanical problems.

While there were stiff gusts today, he said he doubts the wind conditions had anything to do with the crash.

"It's not a problem to go flying in that condition," said Murray.

The transportation safety board has taken over the investigation.