PC carried pilot to safety after crash (From Tewkesbury Admag)

PC carried pilot to safety after crash

A WEATHER warning failed to reach a woman pilot before she set off on a flight which ended with her crashing into a wood near Winchcombe in a snowstorm last November.

A report issued this week by the Air Accident Investigation Branch said it was unlikely she would have heard a weather warning issued minutes before her departure at 2pm from Shobdon Airfield in Herefordshire, heading for Enstone in Oxfordshire.

Even though a wing of the light aircraft was torn off as it plunged into the trees, the 1980 Taylorcraft F-21 landed in an upright position. The 52-year-old pilot miraculously survived and, despite a leg injury, managed to scramble from the cockpit and summoned emergency services on her mobile phone.

A massive rescue operation swung into action, culminating in PC Stephen Smith of Gloucestershire Police's C Division based near Cheltenham battling through the snowstorm to reach her after ambulances had been beaten back by the terrible weather conditions.

He carried her through the woods and across farmland to his police vehicle, crossing fences and wading through knee-deep snow. He and fellow officers, PCs Billy Jenkins and Matthew Reen, provided emergency first aid before taking the pilot to Cheltenham General Hospital.

PC Smith and the other two officers have received commendations from the Chief Constable at the highly commended level.

The AAIB report revealed the weather had rapidly deteriorated during the flight and, with severely reduced visibility, the pilot attempted to maintain a wings-level attitude on her instruments.

But the aircraft gradually lost height and it crashed into Corndean Wood, at an elevation of 1,000ft, and suffered significant damage.

The pilot from Bicester, who has not been named by any of the authorities, had 220 hours flying experience on that particular aircraft type, including four hours in the month prior to the crash.

As well as highly commending the police officers, Gloucestershire Chief Constable Dr Timothy Brain also awarded commendations to response centre staff Cheryl Johnson and Ruth Wills for guiding the rescue operation. He said: "We rightly expect our officers and staff to perform at their best in their day to day work, but there are occasions when people go above and beyond the course of their normal duties."