A pilot made a remarkable escape after he walked free from his plane after it landed upside down in a ploughed field.
Vic Flett, from Elgin, was landing his aircraft at the Shempston Airfield, near Lossiemouth, yesterday when the accident occurred.
Last night the 68-year-old, who runs the Sound and Vision music shop in Elgin and is a well-known musician, was recovering at home after the terrifying incident.
It is understood that Mr Flett walked free from the light aircraft before going to Dr Gray’s Hospital for precautionary checks on minor injuries.
He was recovering at home last night, but did not want to comment.
An investigation has now been launched by the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) to establish the cause of the crash.
Emergency crews were called at about 12.30pm yesterday after the plane careered into a ploughed field – less than a mile from RAF Lossiemouth’s runway and Gordonstoun school.
The single-propeller Societe Aeronautique Normande Jodel D117 aircraft came to rest upside down, short of the grass runway near woodland next to Shempston House.
It is not known what caused the plane to crash during the attempted landing. The roof of the cockpit and propeller had both become embedded in the earth.
Police maintained a watching brief at the scene yesterday while investigators worked to establish the cause.
A police spokesman said: “We attended the report of a light aircraft crash at Shempston Airfield in Lossiemouth. We attended with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and the Scottish Ambulance Service.
“The aircraft pilot was the only occupant and received treatment for minor injuries. No other persons were involved.”
A fire spokeswoman said: “We were in attendance but we were not required to take any action.”
An AAIB spokesman added: “I can confirm that we are investigating a crash that occurred at Shempston Airfield.”
The airfield was previously the scene of a crash involving a historic Tiger Moth biplane, which came down in a barley field in August 2012.
