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Lucky escape during Sherburn Aero Club flight
Pictured from left are Jason Heselden, Graham Appleyard and Matthew Adamson, who were in the plane, and Gina Townsley who organised the trip.
THE son of multi-millionaire businessman Jimi Heselden has told of how he cheated death when the plane in which he was a passenger suffered engine failure.
The light aircraft – carrying four passengers including Jason Heselden – was forced to make an emergency landing in a ploughed farmer’s field near Bramham (pictured) after taking off from Sherburn Aero Club.
Jimi Heselden died in a tragic accident in September 2010 when the Segway scooter he was riding plunged over the edge of a cliff into the River Wharfe at Boston Spa.
Jason has never told the story of his own narrow escape until now.
The 39-year-old, of Oulton, was on board the Piper Warrior aircraft for a sightseeing trip given to him by girlfriend Gina Townsley, 43, as a Christmas present.
Pilot Gordon Elliott, 64, was 15 minutes into the trip when the plane’s engine cut out on December 27 last year.
Jason said he felt his life was saved by both his late father Jimi and pilot Gordon Elliott.
He said: “I just thought ‘is this really happening?’.
“I honestly believe my dad was watching over me and saved me. I felt really emotional after. I’ve relived it thousands of times since Christmas in my mind.”
The plane, which took off from Sherburn Aero Club, was actually over Jimi Heselden’s former home – Flint Mill in Boston Spa – so Jason could take aerial photographs when the drama happened.
Mr Elliott said: “I tried to restart the engine and there was no power.
“As a pilot, the training kicks in. People talk about a mind freeze and you wonder what might happen but all the training comes in and it was a bit of an adrenaline rush.”
Mr Elliott, a married father-of-two who has had his pilot’s licence for 38 years, performed a controlled emergency landing in the field at just after 2pm.
He added: “In all my 38 years of flying I’ve never ever had anything like this happen.
The Piper Warrior aircraft, which belonged to Sherburn Aero Club, was recovered the next day. It’s believed to have been badly damaged and is unlikely to be used again.
An investigation into what caused the accident was launched by The Department of Transport Investigation Bureau and is believed to be ongoing.
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Wednesday 23 May 2012
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