An RAF officer, Iain Bright, recounts a terrifying near-death experience when his plane's engine failed just moments after takeoff, resulting in a 100ft drop and a crash at Easterton airfield near Elgin in July 2021. Bright survived the crash with serious injuries but managed to avoid a fatal impact with a grassy mound.
An RAF officer has told of the terrifying moment his plane engine failed moments after takeoff causing him to crash on an airfield. Iain Bright, 58, had just five seconds to react when he began plummeting towards the ground in a hair-raising 100ft drop.
Speaking on his ordeal Iain said: “The engine just quit, which meant I went from max power to nothing with no warning. This grassy mound that jutted out of the airfield was right in front of me…I knew if I hit it the impact would kill me. Iain said: “When I came to, my legs were in the grass. I could see the sole of my left foot, so I knew that it was badly broken. The windscreen had exploded on impact, thankfully my eyes were protected by my visor, but I couldn’t undo my chin strap.
Iain has paid tribute to the air rescue crews who got him to the major trauma unit in Aberdeen in just 20 minutes, a journey that would have taken one and a half hours by road. Ian said: “The pain started to hit as soon as I knew help was on the way… I think the adrenaline was wearing off. “I couldn’t put any weight on my feet for four months,” Iain said. "I was in a wheelchair for a long time. Because the left ankle had almost been torn off and reattached, it was badly damaged at the joint. I went from being a very active, sporty person to literally not being able to do anything, which was really difficult.”
RAF Officer Plane Crash Engine Failure Near-Death Experience Serious Injuries
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