Press Association
Saturday 11th February 2012
Two men had a lucky escape after their light aircraft ditched in the sea, coastguards said.
Pilot Gary Collings, 49, and his passenger Mark Andrews, 34, were taken to hospital after the dramatic ending to their flight on Wednesday evening.
Mr Collings brought the plane down three miles off Orford Ness, Suffolk, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said.
The men were rescued from the water after making a mayday call. They had deployed their life raft and were not in the sea for long before a rescue helicopter winched them to safety.
Lifeboats arrived on the scene shortly after to search for the aircraft wreckage. It is thought the aircraft's engine may have cut out, forcing Mr Collings to ditch.
The pilot, from Ditchingham in Norfolk, and his passenger, from Northampton, were taken to Ipswich Hospital after the incident at about 6.30pm.
They were described as "walking wounded" and were discharged later in the evening.
Thames Coastguard watch manager Karen Paradise said: "The two people in the light aircraft are incredibly fortunate. As the result of the skills of the rescue helicopter crew this incident was brought to a swift and successful conclusion."
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said the pilot had done "exactly the right thing".
The spokesman said: "If you've got trouble you call mayday, which is a distress call. He called mayday and was able to give his position so he was able to be tracked on radar, he had a life raft on board, he was able to control his ditching to minimise the effect, and they lived to tell the tale."
