Two men were trapped in a crashed plane after it ‘bounced’ off a runway in Gloucestershire and ended up stuck in trees above a footpath.
The light aircraft was coming in to land in the Cotswolds when the pilot hit a bump on the grass landing strip and ‘took off’ again but failed to get enough height.
The Skyranger microlight was part of a social gathering at Manor Farm, Hawling, arranged by the Severn Valley Microlight Club when the incident happened.
An Air Accident Investigation Branch report said the two people were uninjured but the plane was damaged beyond economic repair in the recovery operation on August 21, 2018, at around 5.50pm.
It said the pilot had been flying in from a high approach because of trees at each end of the runway and touched down midway along its length.
The aircraft then bounced off a bump and the pilot, a 67-year-old man, attempted a ‘go around’ to land again.
The report said: "However, there was insufficient distance available to clear the trees at the end of the airstrip or to fly around them.
“As the aircraft approached the trees the pilot allowed the airspeed to reduce, and the aircraft stalled into the canopy.”
The aircraft was stuck about 10m above a footpath and Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service was called out.
They had to cut down trees and use an aerial platform to rescue the two people, the pilot and his passenger, a man in his 20s.
The report concludes: "The pilot reported that this was the first time that he had visited this airstrip and that everything happened very quickly.
“Reflecting on the flight, he believes that he should have orbited the airfield in order to become familiar with its layout and to plan his approach.
“He also believes that he should have made an earlier decision to go-around.”
The crash happened as around 28 aircraft from all over the region gathered in a field for the social event.
They watched as the crash happened.
One person who was there that evening said at the time: "Everybody rushed down but they weren't injured, in fact there wasn't a scratch on them," he said
"They were firmly wedged in the tree, which was the best place for them. It was a soft landing.
"Although they could probably have climbed down, they were told to stay there until emergency services arrived."
Emergency services raced to the scene and remained at the site for several hours after rescuing the pair.
Surrounding roads were closed and drivers advised to avoid the area.
Around 50 people from as far away as Bristol, Wales and Ross-on-Wye were told they could not leave the site until the investigations were complete.
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"The site was in lockdown," said the observer. "It's standard procedure.
"It's like closing a road when there is a road accident."
People at the gathering had been enjoying a barbecue and a rally when the incident happened.
