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.
The flight lieutenant was piloting a small aircraft which was left in pieces following the smash at Easterton airfield, near Elgin, in July 2021. Iain has now revealed how he was just seconds away from instantly being killed as he managed to narrowly avoid a grassy mound which could have proved fatal.
Iain dragged himself out of the wreckage but was left with serious injuries, including two broken ankles, four broken ribs, a partially collapsed lung, and internal bleeding. His back was also shattered in two places.
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.
“I knew I was crashing, and I knew it was going to be severe. The option in front of me of hitting the mound would have almost certainly been fatal.”
Iain was initially knocked out from the brutal force of the crash. He regained consciousness after a few minutes and managed to call his friend who was with him at the airfield but was unaware of the crash. The front of the aircraft was ‘shredded’ with chunks strewn across the airfield. The plane’s windscreen had completely exploded with a piece of glass landing on Iain’s chin.
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.
“Then I realised there was a large shard of windscreen stuck in my chin. Once I pulled that out, I managed to crawl free of the wreckage. My friend – who was a doctor – arrived and saw the wreckage everywhere. He then called for medical help.”
Emergency crews arrived at the scene within 10 minutes including an air ambulance that rushed to Iain’s aid. He was airlifted to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary for treatment to extreme injuries by Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance.
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.
“SCAA’s Helimed 79 was on the scene quickly with several other emergency service vehicles. The paramedics gave me pain relief and put my left leg – which was in bad shape – into an inflatable splint.”
Iain has endured a gruelling three-year recovery. He spent a total of three weeks in hospital, where medics had to rebuild his ankles with “lots of metalwork”. His hospital stay was also captured in the Channel 4 series Rescue Medics.
“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.”
Iain has managed to raise funds to thank the Scottish Charity Air Ambulance over the past two years as he bounced back from his horror injuries to take on an 100 mile walking challenge. In total he’s raised £1,500 for the charity service.
He added: “If SCAA weren’t there and I was just relying on a land ambulance, I think it would have been a horrible journey. To the crew who helped me, I’d like to say thank you for being so prompt and professional.“I hope SCAA are always there for anyone who needs them. You just never know when you wake up that something bad could happen to you that day.“
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