Hueymeister
24th Sep 2006, 10:07
Just bought my local rag and saw the colonel beaming at me from the front page. Well Done matey....keep dodging the hosties now you're no longer dodging bullets!
A Whixall pilot played a vital role in the rescue of a man who had 20 minutes left to live after his plane crashed into the North Sea.
Trevor Rutherford, 49, from Bostock Hall, Whixall, was the co-pilot on board the British Airways Airbus 321 flight which responded to the mayday call from a light aircraft which crash landed six miles off the Suffolk coast on Tuesday.
Mr Rutherford was not completely out of his depth as only four months ago he was in the RAF and has conducted search and rescue operations as part of the American Airforce and served in Gulf War Two.
The pilot was the only person on the Cessna six-seat aircraft which was flying from Germany to Oxford when it ran out of fuel and crashed into the water at 100mph.
A BMI aircraft was asked to assist by air traffic controllers but was also running low on fuel, so Mr Rutherford’s plane was asked to start the search operation.
The BA403 flight was carrying 47 passengers on board the 200 seater plane from Brussels to Heathrow when they responded to the mayday radio message and dropped to 3,000 feet to circle and pinpoint the crash location.
Mr Rutherford, who had previously been an instructor at RAF Shawbury and was more recently based at RAF Odiham in North Hampshire, said there was no sign of the plane in the sea because it had sunk shortly after it crashed at 1.15pm but a Russian ship was nearby and enabled them to pinpoint the location.
He said: “I directed the captain to the area. We had to ID the area but the plane sunk very quickly. We were in constant contact with air traffic control and directed the helicopter to where it was. We were doing the job of an RAF Nimrod.”
He said that at all times the aircraft was above a safe height and the passengers were kept well informed and were perfectly safe.
The RAF search and rescue helicopter flew in from RAF Wattisham in Suffolk and winched the pilot to safety.
Mr Rutherford said the pilot had no life-saving equipment with him and was only wearing trousers and a shirt.
“He had only been in the sea twenty to thirty minutes but it was estimated that he only had twenty minutes left. He had no survival jacket on,” he said.
He was flown to be treated in an Ipswich hospital and is reported to be only suffering from a sore neck and scratches.
Mr Rutherford said it was like going back to his old job in the RAF.
“I felt like I was back in my comfort zone, it’s what I used to do for a living in the RAF.
“I used to do combat search and rescue so it was basically the same but without the bullets flying around.”
British Airways said they were proud of Mr Rutherford and the captain, James Wiggle who also used to be an RAF pilot, and the pair were congratulated by Nats, the air control service, saying they helped to save the pilot’s life.:ok: :D :
Just goes to show that the Crabs aren't all utterly, utterly useless.
A Whixall pilot played a vital role in the rescue of a man who had 20 minutes left to live after his plane crashed into the North Sea.
Trevor Rutherford, 49, from Bostock Hall, Whixall, was the co-pilot on board the British Airways Airbus 321 flight which responded to the mayday call from a light aircraft which crash landed six miles off the Suffolk coast on Tuesday.
Mr Rutherford was not completely out of his depth as only four months ago he was in the RAF and has conducted search and rescue operations as part of the American Airforce and served in Gulf War Two.
The pilot was the only person on the Cessna six-seat aircraft which was flying from Germany to Oxford when it ran out of fuel and crashed into the water at 100mph.
A BMI aircraft was asked to assist by air traffic controllers but was also running low on fuel, so Mr Rutherford’s plane was asked to start the search operation.
The BA403 flight was carrying 47 passengers on board the 200 seater plane from Brussels to Heathrow when they responded to the mayday radio message and dropped to 3,000 feet to circle and pinpoint the crash location.
Mr Rutherford, who had previously been an instructor at RAF Shawbury and was more recently based at RAF Odiham in North Hampshire, said there was no sign of the plane in the sea because it had sunk shortly after it crashed at 1.15pm but a Russian ship was nearby and enabled them to pinpoint the location.
He said: “I directed the captain to the area. We had to ID the area but the plane sunk very quickly. We were in constant contact with air traffic control and directed the helicopter to where it was. We were doing the job of an RAF Nimrod.”
He said that at all times the aircraft was above a safe height and the passengers were kept well informed and were perfectly safe.
The RAF search and rescue helicopter flew in from RAF Wattisham in Suffolk and winched the pilot to safety.
Mr Rutherford said the pilot had no life-saving equipment with him and was only wearing trousers and a shirt.
“He had only been in the sea twenty to thirty minutes but it was estimated that he only had twenty minutes left. He had no survival jacket on,” he said.
He was flown to be treated in an Ipswich hospital and is reported to be only suffering from a sore neck and scratches.
Mr Rutherford said it was like going back to his old job in the RAF.
“I felt like I was back in my comfort zone, it’s what I used to do for a living in the RAF.
“I used to do combat search and rescue so it was basically the same but without the bullets flying around.”
British Airways said they were proud of Mr Rutherford and the captain, James Wiggle who also used to be an RAF pilot, and the pair were congratulated by Nats, the air control service, saying they helped to save the pilot’s life.:ok: :D :
Just goes to show that the Crabs aren't all utterly, utterly useless.