HELICOPTER pilot Jerry Dunn has said he is "lucky to be alive" after walking away from a horror crash.
Mr Dunn, 70, escaped with only minor injuries after his McDonnell Douglas 500 helicopter collided with power lines and crashed.
And the experienced pilot from Longdown, near Exeter, insists he will be back in the air within months.
He said: "I feel lucky to be alive.
"This particular model of helicopter has an A-frame inside and that is what saved my life. It was like a cocoon. If it had been another type of helicopter I may not be here."
His helicopter crashed near Poundsgate, Dartmoor, near Newton Abbot, at about 5.40pm on Monday.
He said: "The tail came off, and the rotors. I was flying to pick some people up. I have been to that place loads of times but there was a north-east wind so I had to come down a different way.
"There was a gap but I did not see the wires."
Grandfather Mr Dunn, who lives with his wife Pat, 61, suffered two cracked ribs, lacerations to his head, a large cut to the back of his head and bruising.
"I dropped 40ft," he said. " The electricity wires were like a bungee. They extended and then it was like a catapult. It sent me backwards and rolled me several times before hitting the deck. I was like a rag doll inside.
"I was very lucky to come out of it alive. I tried to pull up but it all happened so fast.
"I was also concerned that the aircraft was going to blow up and catch fire. Luckily part of the helicopter had snapped off and blocked the fuel line. Somebody up there must have been watching."
Mr Dunn, who has been flying for 20 years, said he has never been in an accident before.
He said 95 per cent of helicopter crashes were due to pilot error.
He added: "I will be back up again in a couple of months."
Ron Doe, 70, witnessed the crash as he waited to be picked up for a flight in the helicopter.
Mr Doe, who is from Brighton but was on holiday in Torbay, helped the dazed and injured pilot from the chopper.
It crashed in a field opposite the Tavistock Inn, in Poundsgate.
Mr Doe and his wife were due to go on a pleasure flight with pilot Mark Wilkinson, who was going to take over flying the chopper, when the drama unfolded above them.
He said: "The helicopter hit power lines. It was like fireworks going off.
"We were standing with Mark who was going to take us out for a flight.
"We knew the pilot, Jerry, was due in about 5.30pm and were waiting for him."
He revealed: "The helicopter came in a bit low over the trees which obscured the power cables.
"The trees are green and the power cables are green.
"As he tipped the nose down the front caught the cables. For a moment I thought he was going to break free because one of the cables broke, but then he went down.
"He came in as if it was a normal flight. Mark realised he was coming in too low and ran down the field trying to tell him."
He added: "There were sparks and flashes all over the place. Once it tipped him off he cart-wheeled down the field. It looked like fireworks going off. It was lucky he missed us all.
"Some of the bits of the helicopter flew over the hedge into the road."
Mr Doe was just 40 feet away as the helicopter hit the ground.
"We ran to the helicopter and got the door open.
"He was bleeding pretty badly," said Mr Doe.
"We got him out. I put my handkerchief over the cut on his head but he was bleeding through that. It was really scary.
"I have never felt better than when I looked at him and he was looking back at me smiling.
"It was really scary. My wife is very shaken up by what she saw.
"But it has all turned out all right in the end, apart from the helicopter.
"I really must convey my thanks to the emergency services. It does not seem like there was any time between the crash and the ambulance, police and fire service arriving on the scene. They did a great job."
About 150 homes lost their electricity because of damage caused to the cables.
Workers for Western Power Distribution restored power by midnight.
Nobody else was involved in the incident, which has been reported to the Air Accident Investigation Branch.
In a statement a spokesman said: "We are investigating through correspondence with the pilot."