Two men have had a miraculous escape after their light plane crashed onto a busy Sydney golf course, walking away with only minor injuries.
The single-engine Piper Cherokee was on a training flight when it ran into engine trouble over the city’s northern beaches, crash-landing on Mona Vale Golf Course about 2.20pm on Sunday.
The incident sent shockwaves through players enjoying an afternoon round.
“So I turned around and we all had a look and it was coming straight over our heads,” one golfer told 9News. “And Nick, who was playing with us, his dad’s in aviation, so he said ‘Run!’.
“So we just ran towards the trees and we just watched the plane come down and you could see the wheels.”
The pilot and his student, both in their 50s, managed to walk away largely unscathed. Witnesses rushed to help as the pair emerged from the wreckage.
NSW Ambulance inspector Chris Peck said the men were fortunate to escape without serious injury.
“The pilot and the trainee pilot had minor abrasions, were coherent and had a full recollection of events,” he said.
The plane had departed Camden, in Sydney’s southwest, before skirting around the city and heading north. It reportedly lost power over Palm Beach and was directed to Long Reef but was unable to make it that far.
The crash left the Piper Cherokee badly damaged, and air safety investigators will now look into the cause.
The aircraft will remain on the course overnight while insurers work out how to remove it. The process could take several days due to the sodden ground and hilly terrain.
That means part of Mona Vale Golf Course will be closed until the wreck can be safely cleared.
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