First pic of injured pilot who crashed into the sea at a Kent airshow before shocked crowds rushed to save him
He miraculously survived after plummeting into the water just an hour after the RAF's Red Arrows impressive display
THE bloodied and bruised pilot who survived crashing into the sea at the Herne Bay Airshow in Kent has been pictured for the first time.
Spectators rushed onto the beach to help save his life by bravely pulling the single-seater light aircraft out of the water.
It crashed at around 3.30pm yesterday - just an hour after the RAF's Red Arrows performed a stunning display.
Spectator Bruno Tilley told The Sun Online: "I noticed the plane coming in extremely low, but I thought it was just part of the display.
"But then it started to get lower and lower and that's when I knew something wasn't right.
"Everyone just had their mouths wide open as they watched on, completely stunned."
That was when the pilot decided to ditch the plane into the sea, which quickly flipped on its back as onlookers ran to rescue.
Everyone just had their mouths wide open as they watched on, completely stunned.
Bruno Tilley
Mr Tilley added: "I went over to see if I could help but there were already people hauling him out of the plane.
"They saved his life because he's not a young guy. It looked to me like he wouldn't have been able to get out otherwise."
Witness Nigel Hancock has also told of the moment the plane came down near Sea View Road - and seeing members of the public dash into the sea to help out.
He said: "I was sat up on a local high point. I'd only just arrived there when I saw this aircraft had left the display pattern.
"I thought something was amiss, so I took a sequence of shots.
"The aircraft was very small and it ended up in shallow water. If it wasn't for the quick actions of people on the beach wading in to help right the aircraft, I don't know what would have happened."
The air show said on its Facebook page that the incident involved the Turbulent Display Team, and confirmed that the pilot suffered minor injuries.
Another onlooker told : "It just went into the water from a fairly low height and then flipped over. Then the rescue helicopter arrived."
The coast guard and an air ambulance attended the scene as the show was put on hold.
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No one is thought to have been injured in the crash which occurred after the pilot lost control and plunged into the water.
Another onlooker said: "It was flying quite low and I thought 'he looks like he's trying to land on the water'.
"Then the nose hit the surface of the sea and the plane flipped right over with the pilot upside down."
A section of the beach was cleared to allow a coastguard helicopter to land which remained cordoned off as they fish the plane out of the sea.
The Lydd-based Coastguard search and rescue helicopter was scrambled, along with Coastguard rescue teams and the Whitstable inshore lifeboat.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) deployed a team to investigate.
Safety regulations at UK air shows were tightened in the wake of last August's Shoreham air disaster, which claimed 11 lives.
The Herne Bay Airshow is the biggest of its kind in Kent and regularly pulls in huge crowds.
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