Miracle escape in beach plane crash
FOUR SURVIVORS LEFT INJURED
THE pilot of a light aircraft crash-landed on an Irish beach after making a mayday call to warn it had suffered engine failure, it emerged last night.
The man and three other occupants of the P68 survey plane miraculous survived and were seen exiting from the airplane “walking around” after it landed on a beach at Carnsore Point, Co Wexford, just after 5pm.
The four occupants of the ai rcraf t – two men in their 20s and 50s and two women in their
30s – were transported to hospital with non life-threatening injuries.
Initial indications are that the plane had run into engine trouble while flying over the
Irish Sea.
Pilot John Walton watched the aftermath from the air last night told The
Star the flyer of the downed plane – who is believed to be French – made two mayday calls to o controllers at Waterford airport before the crash landing.
Mr Walton said: “There were two short transmissions.
“The first was that he had suffered engine failure and the second was that he was going to have to land on a beach.
“His [voice] was neutral and controlled.”
Mr Wa l ton a flight around said he was on Waterford and
Wexford when controllers messaged him to ask him to fly over a 10 mile area of the coast to see if he could locate the plane – and he found it on a beach close to Carnsore Point .
He said: “You could see the airplane had landed on the beach. It seemed to be in good condition with no signs of distress.
“I orbited it a few times and then the rescue helicopter arrived after around 10 minutes.”
Mr Walton said he saw several figures around the plane – which he took to be the occupants and other people who were on the beach at the time of the landing.
He said: “The people I observed were walking around. They looked okay.”
Mayday
Following the crash landing, the rescue was aided by Gardai, Wexford Coast Guard and two Coast Guard helicopters and HSE paramedics. The aircraft is described as a light plane and it is understood it was on a survey v flight.