SH1 plane-crash pilot 'phenomenal'

The plane broke up and spread flaming debris, including its engine, on State Highway 1. Two men were taken to hospital with serious injuries. Picture / Lion Foundation Rescue Helicopter

The actions of a 67-year-old pilot who crash-landed his aircraft through power lines on to State Highway 1 have been described as phenomenal.

Simon Creasy and his 26-year-old cousin Alex Milner-Smith received burns over their upper bodies when the light plane disintegrated and burst into flames as it crashed near the settlement of Te Rangiita yesterday.

Both men were seriously injured and witnesses said they were lucky to be alive. They were initially treated with cold water from nearby Lake Taupo.

The two set out in the high-performance home-built plane about 3pm, intending to fly over Lake Taupo and look at the mountains. Turangi forestry contractor James Bell and his workmates heard the plane's engine stutter.

Mr Bell said: "It turned 180 degrees, it was definitely going down.

"We heard it go over and distinctly heard the engine stuttering and heard a funny noise. It circled lower and lower and went out of sight and we joked it was going to crash."

Another witness, Ray Walker, who lives near the crash site, 10km northeast of Turangi, said: "There was a massive ball of fire and black smoke pouring everywhere right in the middle of the road.

"The fence was on fire and there was debris everywhere. I thought they [the two men] were still in it."

Mr Creasy and his cousin - who was visiting from London - were helped out of the wreckage by bystanders. There were reports that one of the men was still on fire as he stepped from the cockpit.

Mr Walker said three other people had rushed to help the pair before he arrived at the crash site.

"There was grass burned on the side of the road. When they escaped they must have been on fire and rolled in the grass."

The men were taken by Taupo's two Lion Foundation Rescue helicopters to Waikato Hospital in Hamilton.

Pilot Dan Harcourt, who was escorting one of the patients, said Mr Creasy indicated the plane had had mechanical failure.

Mr Harcourt said the two men were first taken to the lake about 50m away to bathe their burns. Both were undergoing surgery last night.

Senior Sergeant Tony Jeurissen of Taupo said the plane's engine sat in the middle of the road and a wing and the cockpit were on the roadside.

Senior Constable Barry Shepherd, one of the first officers on the scene, said the pilot had done a forced landing heading south.

He had flown straight through two sets of power lines that crossed the road and taken out a power pole.

"The engine parted company from the fuselage and wings, and that was all on fire."

There was no collision between the plane and cars, he said.

Constable Guy Callahan of Turangi, who arrived within five minutes of the crash, said it was a miracle no vehicles were on the road at the time.

"State Highway 1 is normally pretty busy. It's amazing there was no other incident. It was pure luck.

"The road is smack-bang in the middle of the forest.

"There are always logging trucks going through there and freight going between Auckland and Wellington, commuters, people going skiing. It was a freak occurrence."

St John area manager Graeme Harvey also praised Mr Creasy's actions in what would have been a difficult landing.

"The pilot obviously did a phenomenal job to be able to get [the plane] on to the ground."

Civil Aviation Authority spokesman Bill Sommer said the plane was a sophisticated and high performance homebuilt-type, two-seater Lancair 360.

It was thought the pilot might have been making a forced landing after the aircraft had engine problems.

Mr Creasy's wife Jennifer told the Herald the pair had gone flying about 3pm.

"It was a beautiful day in Taupo. The mountains were clear and spectacular and they were going for a fly over them, as we have done so many times."

She said her husband had built the plane several years ago with a former Air Force pilot.

The plane was "in top condition" and had been flown to Queenstown at least three times.

Mrs Creasy said her husband was an experienced pilot who had worked for Cathay Pacific for 30 years.

"He was their chief pilot and he's been retired for 13 years."

Her husband would have done everything he could to land the plane without harming anyone.

She credited the men's survival to her husband's skill.

"His flying ability was absolute perfection. He is a top-gun pilot and the only reason they got out of that plane was his skill.

"He was a check and training man. You couldn't get better.

"What went wrong is for the CAA to discover but he landed that plane and they got out of that alive when a lot of people are saying it was a miracle."