Air crash plane was built by pilot, 73
8:06am Monday 1st September 2008
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By Rachel Wearmouth »
A PENSIONER who escaped death when his plane flipped over in a crash-landing had spent ten years building the aircraft from parts sent in the post.
Bill Knott, 73, who is afraid of heights, escaped with serious injuries to his neck and back, while a passenger, also in his 70s, was able to walk away from the scene at Fishburn Airfield – also know as Morgansfield Airstrip – near Sedgefield, County Durham.
Both managed to free themselves from the wreckage of the Vans RV two-seater craft before the emergency services arrived on Saturday.
Firecrews and police arrived at the scene, near the A177, at about 3.50pm.
Stockton pilot Eric Bentley was one of the first to reach the crash site.
He said: “Working at the airfield, I see planes landing and taking off all the time, and there was absolutely nothing untoward about Mr Knott’s approach.
“But then all of a sudden the plane just flipped onto its back.
“Both of the men were able to speak, but it was clear the pilot was very shaken and he couldn’t walk.
“They were both extremely fortunate to have survived something like that.”
Mr Knott, from Inverness, Scotland, was taken by air ambulance to the University Hospital of North Tees, in Stockton, after paramedics found he was unable to stand.
The co-pilot, whose identity has not been released, was discharged from hospital with minor neck injuries on Saturday.
Jane Peacock and consultant anaesthetist Phil Godfrey, of the Great North Air Ambulance, gave assistance.
Ms Peacock said: “On arrival, there were many bystanders and the aircraft was lying upside down.
“The two occupants had managed to get themselves out.
“One was walking and the other was lying down on the grass.
“We dealt with him as a priority and administered strong pain relief before putting him into the air ambulance.
“They are both lucky to have come out of a plane crash and not have sustained injuries any more serious. They are both amazing really.”
Grahame Pickering, chief executive of the Great North Air Ambulance, was due to visit Morgansfield airstrip yesterday to collect a cheque in aid of the service. Mr Knott and his companion had taken off from North Weald airfield, in Essex, on Saturday morning, where they had attended an aircraft owners’ convention the day before.
Their flight plan included a routine fuel stop in the region before heading for Inverness in the evening.
Mr Knott took up flying as a hobby on retiring after a lifelong fascination with air travel, and was awarded his pilot’s licence in 2006.
The grandfather-of-eight finished building the aircraft in January last year, after a decade of assembling parts received by post.
Speaking to the BBC last year, Mr Knott said: “The first time the plane flew it was in the hands of the test pilot.
“It was very nerve-racking because you have put it together.
There are 13,000 rivets in the plane, and you are a little bit nervous that you may have done something incorrect.”
The Air Accident Investigation Branch has launched a probe into the cause of the incident.
Yesterday, a spokesman said it was thought the weather had not been a factor.
Airfield owner Beryl Morgan said she could not remember anything similar happening the past. “Mr Knott simply came here to fill up,” she said.
A spokesman for the Highway Flying School, in Inverness, said: “Mr Knott is a determined private pilot with a great enthusiasm and is a very active member of the Light Aircraft Association. We wish him a speedy recovery.”
Mr Knott was still receiving treatment last night.