A FLYING instructor wrestled his light plane to an emergency landing in a Sydney backyard after his trainee lost control yesterday.
The 33-year-old student pilot was practising stall manoeuvres when the Piper Twin Comanche plane started plummeting to earth.
The senior instructor, who works for Curtis Aviation, managed to crash-land the plane at Kirkham shortly after taking off from Camden Airport at 8.30am.
Jayden Lonergan, 12, and brother Blake, 8, saw the plane hit as they stood on their back porch.
“I saw the plane come down and hit the ground and just skid and then go through our next door neighbour’s fence and then our fence,” Jayden said. “I just couldn’t believe what I saw.”
Dad Mark Lonergan heard the plane from inside the home.
“Normally you hear aeroplane engines but this plane, its sound made you feel a bit ill because it sounded as though it was close and in difficulty,” he said.
“I got up straight away and ran into the backyard and saw it lying across our fence line basically intact except it didn’t appear to have any landing wheels out.”
The instructor was in hospital while back injuries and the trainee was treated for shock.
Source: www.news.com.au
