A Lucky Escape for Flex-Wing Pilot Roger Huyshe

Sunday, 03 May 2009 07:20 Last Updated on Sunday, 03 May 2009 08:30 Written by Darren Bardsley

Roger, Over and Ouch!

All pilots' fears came true for Shropshire based Roger Huyshe, when he ended up being slammed into trees and a live power cable by strong winds at Chirk Airfield on the Shropshire/Welsh border. Wedged in the trees at high level, airfield staff and fire services used a ladder to get Roger down to safety from the aircraft in the afternoon of Friday 1st May 2009.

Paramedics were called to check Roger over and workers from Scottish Power were called to isolate and make safe the cable he had crashed into.

Roger has been flying for four years and had taken off from Otherton airfield, near Stafford, and said he was fortunate to be able to walk away from the crash which happened at 1.40pm and involved his Gemini Flash Alpha flexwing microlight. He said: “I was preparing to land at the airfield when I felt the wind really pick up and it became very turbulent. In retrospect I should have gone around again or just flown back to where I had come from but I tried to land. I was about 20 feet off the ground when the gusts just picked up and within seconds I had been blown to my right side and into the trees. I was very lucky because I could have struck nearby buildings. I crashed into the tree and onto the power cable but apart from a sore chest I was unhurt.

Airfield worker Ian Pierce said: “I was watching him come in and I could tell he was a bit low. The wind was gusting and he just veered off into the trees. We ran over and climbed the tree to see if he was hurt. The fire brigade arrived and I helped him out of his aircraft and down the ladder. He was very lucky.

He could have been really badly hurt but the trees helped to cushion him,” added Mr Pierce.

The Air Accident Investigation Branch had been informed.