Another escape for luckiest pair

Dec 31 2007 by Sam Wood, The Journal

TWO friends cheated death for the second time yesterday when their light aircraft crashed in Northumberland.

The men, named locally as Jim Martin and Jon Ker, were seriously injured when the small microlight crashed into trees at Bywell Farm, north of Morpeth.

The aircraft’s landing was cushioned by the trees, which sit between a ploughed field and Burgham Golf Course.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch is expected to begin its inquiries into the incident today.

Last year, the two flyers survived a climbing accident that killed their friend, Dr Rupert Bennett.

The three Great North Air Ambulance team members – Jim Martin is a pilot in his late 40s and Jon Ker a paramedic in his mid-30s – were climbing on Ben Nevis when tragedy struck.

Jon was abseiling down in bad weather when the ground Jim and Rupert were standing on gave way, and they plunged 100ft to the ground.

Rupert died in the fall, but the other two were rescued later. Jim was seriously injured and Jon slightly injured.

Jim enjoyed even more luck when he survived a helicopter crash at Hanover Air Show in 1988, which killed eight of his crew.

In yesterday’s incident, the microlight fell into a ravine in the wooded area after witnesses reported hearing the engine stall and seeing something fall from the aircraft. Several golf club members were on the course at the time and witnessed the crash. They contacted emergency services, who were on the scene within minutes.

It took some time to reach the men and cut them free from the wreckage before they were taken to Newcastle General Hospital, one by air ambulance, the other by police helicopter.

Police last night described the men’s condition as serious. They were both suffering concussion and severe leg injuries and one had internal bleeding.

The microlight had set off from nearby Felton airfield and was thought to be heading for Eshott airfield, just south of Felton.

Steve Clarehugh, the chief flying instructor at Eshott, said the “two star guys” were very fortunate.

He said: “The trees broke their fall after their aircraft dropped out of the sky.

“The rescue services had a big job getting to the scene and had to use boards to reach the men.”

Inspector Rod Maclennan of Bedlington Police said: “We received a call at about 12.10pm from several people who had seen the plane come down. The two adult males in the plane were taken to hospital and the extent of their injuries is still unclear.

“It is unclear at the moment why the plane came down. Both men were experienced pilots and had not reported any problems before it came down.”

The area around the crash site was still cordoned off last night. Accident investigators were on the scene and it is expected the inquiry could take a few days.

Several golfers spoke to The Journal about what they had witnessed. Andrew Wilson, 64, of Gosforth, was on the course at the time. He said: “The plane looked to be about 1,000ft up when suddenly the engine cut out and it began to nosedive down. Eventually the pilot got the engine started again but then the plane just started spinning and it wasn’t pulling up.

“Just before it hit the ground it did begin to level off but it was still falling at speed. When it hit the ground, there was a huge bang.”

Another golfer, Richard Dawson, said: “It was quite horrific. Something seemed to drop off the plane before it started falling.

“The engine stopped and then the plane started rotating and hit the ground. It looked like a few parts of the plane fell out of the sky afterwards.”

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