Without a wing and prayer, four walk free after plane crash

Three people celebrating a 40th birthday with a joyflight had a miraculous escape after their pilot was forced to crash-land his plane on a quiet Australian road, despite losing the aircraft's wings on the way down.

All four walked away from the crash with minor cuts and bruises after their single-engine Piper Warrior stalled and plummeted to earth, losing its wings on powerlines as fuel spilled into trees alongside the road and burst into flames.



"I thought they'd all be dead. All that was there was 10 feet (3m) of metal, no wings, nothing," said Brian McGrath, who witnessed the accident on Thursday on the Mornington Peninsula south of Melbourne.

The flight had been intended as a 40th birthday present for a nurse, who gave her name only as Kerry as she walked away from the cabin of the crashed plane, which came to rest on its side in bushes surrounded by debris.



"It was their lucky day. She's had her birthday present," rescuer Bill McNamara said.

More here and here.