Skydiver recalls terrifying moment plane engine failed before the pilot miraculously crash landed

‘He told us to brace, we waited for impact’: Skydiver relives the terrifying moment a plane engine failed at just 400 feet before a ‘ripper’ pilot somehow managed to crash land without anybody being killed

  • A pilot and four passengers are lucky to be alive after skydiving plane crash
  • Engine shut down at 400 feet after take-off from Tooradin Airport in Victoria
  • Pilot forced to make an emergency landing before crashing at a nearby property 
  • Amid fears the plane would erupt into flames, survivors fled to safety unhurt 

A skydiver has recalled the terrifying moment a plane engine failed at 400 feet, forcing the pilot to perform a crash landing.

Remarkably, all four passengers and the pilot survived the impact a few hundred metres from Tooradin Airport, 70km south-east of Melbourne, on Sunday morning.

‘We could hear the stall noise going off and we knew we were in s**t,’ one of the skydivers told 9News.

‘From the engine cutting out, we had almost no time to react.

The pilot was forced to perform a crash landing on Sunday – he survived along with the four passengers on board

One of the passengers on Sunday seconds before scrambling to safety

One of the passengers on Sunday seconds before scrambling to safety

‘It was pretty much everyone hold on for the ride and just hope for the best.’

The skydiver, who asked to remain anonymous, also said the pilot from Skydive South East Melbourne had ‘about 30 seconds’ to assess the dire situation and then save everyone on board.

‘He told us to brace. We waited for impact. Impacted the ground. Went through fences and what-not until we came to a sudden stop,’ he said.

‘When we hit the ground we were still intact. It was definitely a hard thud, but probably the softest plane crash I’d ever had.

‘He did an awesome job, he was a ripper pilot.’

Following the emergency landing, the danger levels remained, with fuel from a ruptured left wing pouring over the cabin.

Showing amazing poise, all the passengers scrambled their way to safety, knowing they had cheated death. 

A Victoria Police spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia the cause of the plane malfunction is being investigated. 

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has also launched its own investigation.

One of the passengers bracing herself for impact on Sunday near Tooradin Airport

One of the passengers bracing herself for impact on Sunday near Tooradin Airport

Five people miraculously survived this plane crash (pictured) on Sunday morning

Five people miraculously survived this plane crash (pictured) on Sunday morning

Firefighters at the scene said pilot and four passengers were lucky to walk away unharmed

Firefighters at the scene said pilot and four passengers were lucky to walk away unharmed

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk