Two rescued as plane lands on beach
10.03.06
The crew of a light aircraft was last night forced to make an emergency landing on a beach after going 75 miles off course during a 100-mile journey! The two-seater Cessna 150 set off from Cumbernauld airport near Glasgow, to fly to Carlisle in north-west England. But the pilot lost his way and ended up landing at Goswick Sands, off north-east England.
The landing was made possible after an RAF Sea King helicopter was scrambled to locate and help escort the light aircraft to safety. The two men on board escaped injury. They were picked up by the helicopter, which landed beside them, and flown on to RAF Boulmer in Northumberland. They continued their journey to Carlisle by train.
Michael Mulford, of the RAF Rescue Centre at Kinloss said: 'We launched a Sea King after the National Air Traffic Service at Prestwick alerted us that the plane was encountering difficulties. We found him near Berwick and, after establishing that he was short of fuel, led him to Goswick Sands, a big tidal stretch of beach, just north of Holy Island.'
Coastguard officials and locals last night managed to tow the plane on to dry land. It may be flown from the beach today following safety checks and refuelling.
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