A man who managed to survive a plane crash has explained what happened after the cockpit of his plane caught fire in mid-air.
Former British serviceman Jamie Hull was inspired to learn to fly a plane after watching the aircraft at Luton airport in London as a child, so when he grew up he began taking lessons with an instructor.
He was working on building up his hours flying solo when he spotted a 'thin streak of yellow-orange flame' to one side of the plane, shortly after he'd flown up to 1000 feet.
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Hear about what happened below:
Hull realised that the fire was coming from the plane and looked down to see more flames starting to lap around his feet in the cockpit.
Recalling what went through his mind, Hull told UNILAD: 'I thought immediately, Christ this is no drill. This is for real, this is an emergency.'
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The former serviceman explained he couldn't jump from the plane because 'you don't wear a parachute in a light aircraft', but added: 'I was under no illusion that if I didn't get out of that burning cockpit quickly that the likelihood was I wasn't going to make it.'
Hull determined that his only option was to try and escape the cockpit, but he knew he needed to lower the plane in order to have a chance of surviving. He remembered an instructor having told him to continue to fly the aircraft in an emergency situation, so began to reduce his air speed and lower the plane as the flames made their way up to chin-level.
He recalled opening the door next to him and climbing out on to the wing of the plane before jumping approximately 15 feet to the ground, where he fell forwards and smashed his face on the 'sharp Florida razor grass'. Even after making it to the ground Hull had to pat out flames on his body, while the plane continued to fall lower before crashing and exploding.
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The pilot described the heat of the blast as 'intense' and said it was at that moment that the pain hit him for the first time, likening it to a 'tsunami' as it washed over him. He had suffered a series of internal and external injuries, with 63% of his body covered in third degree burns.
Hull felt himself growing weaker at the scene but thankfully rescuers were able to save him. In spite of being given just a 5% chance of survival, he managed to live to tell the tale.
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Emily Brown