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The pilot of a light aircraft which had to make an emergency landing on a beach in Devon this evening has spoken out about the incident.
Zac Rockey was flying the vintage plane along the Jurassic Coast when the engine failed.
The nearest area for him to make an emergency landing was Jacob’s Ladder beach at Sidmouth, which he did safely at about 5pm.
The experienced pilot had been asked to take the aircraft, by its owners, down to Bodmin Airfield for an event to mark the 100 anniversary of the end of the First World War; the era the plane is from.
It was on his return that he started to get into difficultly.
He said: “We flying along taking in the it began to lose power, it failed, the options available to me in the cockpit didn’t work. So I had to look somewhere to land.
“You look for somewhere near something or people so that if there are complications you will be able to get help more easily.
“You know what I have had better runways. It was not ideal.”
He added that all his training came into play as he dealt with the situation, which could have been a lot worse.
Zac was showing the aircraft off to a prospective buyer while at Bodmin but it had not been successful.
He also thanked the coastguard crews for their help and support following the incident.
The plane will now need to be dismantled in order to get it off the beach.
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Devon Live
An engine out landing, in a tail dragger, on a stony beach alongside cliffs.
It's not exactly the best hand ever dealt.
Landing site from the air (Google).