75 miles off course in 100 mile trip...
The Herald - Friday 10th:
THE crew of a light aircraft was last night forced to make an emergency landing on a beach after going 75 miles off course during a 100-mile journey. The two-seater Cessna 150 set off from Cumbernauld airport, near Glasgow, to fly to Carlisle, in north-west England. But the pilot lost his way and ended up landing at Goswick Sands, just north of Holy Island, off north-east England.
The landing was made possible after an RAF Sea King helicopter was scrambled to locate and help escort the light aircraft to safety. The two Scottish men on board, believed to be in their early 40s but who have not been identified, escaped injury. They were picked up by the helicopter, which landed beside them, and flown on to RAF Boulmer in Northumberland. A friend picked them up last night and they continued their journey to Carlisle by train.
Michael Mulford, of the RAF Rescue Centre at Kinloss, in Moray, explained how the drama unfolded after the plane left Cumbernauld at about 4.30pm. He said: "The pilot got lost near Carlisle and appeared to be tracking along the River Tweed toward the east coast. We launched a Sea King after the National Air Traffic Service at Prestwick alerted us that the plane was encountering difficulties. "Our guys flew north towards Kelso . . . we found him near Berwick and, after establishing that he was short of fuel, led him south towards Eshott airfield at Morpeth. "On the way, the guy said he did not have enough fuel to reach Eshott so he landed at Goswick Sands, a big tidal stretch of beach, just north of Holy Island, just before 6.30pm."
Visibility at the time of the rescue was quite poor, with showers and the light failing. Mr Mulford went on: "The two men have got themselves into trouble but have managed successfully to get out of it with a lot of help from others."
Squadron Leader Andy Shenton, who captained the rescue helicopter, said: "The men were very lucky. The tide was coming in, but they still had enough sand to land on but absolutely no fuel left. They are very shaken but otherwise unhurt."
Coastguard officials and locals last night managed to tow the plane on to dry land. It may be flown from the beach today following safety checks and refuelling.