Crash survivors 'lucky to be alive'

Judy Laidler and Mark Peacock (left) both survived

An official report into a light aircraft crash in the Cairngorms said the survivors were fortunate to be found alive by rescue teams.

Four people escaped from the wreckage of the Cessna 172 plane after it came down in Lochnagar, near Braemar in January.

The aircraft had been travelling from Peterborough to Inverness when it crashed 3,000ft up a mountain after flying low to escape ice forming on the wings.

Mark Peacock, 22, and his girlfriend Judy Laidler, 19, escaped with minor injuries while pilot Stephan Broughton, 53, and his 38-year-old co-pilot who did not want to be identified, suffered broken bones.

The survivors were airlifted to hospital

After the crash the survivors walked about a kilometre in freezing conditions until they found a cove where they huddled together for warmth.

They had all been close to giving up when they were spotted by a Royal Air Force helicopter and airlifted to hospital.

All four were suffering from mild hypothermia due to a lack of appropriate clothing for the extreme weather conditions.

The air accident report stated that Mr Broughton, from Ipswich, had thousands of hours of flying experience.

Emergency beacon

It confirmed that the Cessna aircraft had no de-icing capability.

The report said that there was initial confusion over the location of the crash from the Cessna's emergency beacon.

The survivors were found walking away from the beacon, which was their only location aid.

It was absolutely unbelievable that they survived, they were very very lucky indeed

Jim Ferguson, aviation journalist

The report concluded that their chances of survival were slim as temperatures began to plummet with the onset of darkness.

It adds: "When rescued they were already suffering from mild hypothermia.

"Sunset that evening was 4.26pm after which the chance of locating the survivors would have been remote.

"They would then have been forced to spend the night on the hills in extreme conditions without appropriate clothing, protection or any location aids."

An RAF spokesman said the case highlighted the importance of light aircraft carrying emergency beacons.

Aviation journalist Jim Ferguson said: "It was absolutely unbelievable that they survived, they were very very lucky indeed.

"The report confirms what we knew. The plane flew into cloud, it wasn't supposed to and the report does not make it clear why. The pilot had an awful job keeping control and he crash landed on the slope."