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Last Updated: Thursday, 8 May, 2003, 17:05 GMT 18:05 UK
Plane crash pilot wins safety award

A pilot who managed to land his light aircraft on a beach, even though his cockpit was filled with smoke and his windscreen was covered in oil, has won an award.

Sudden engine failure left Christopher Linton with no power and limited visibility in May 2002.

He turned off the fuel and electronics and asked one of his two passengers to hold open a door of the Beech Bonanza aircraft to help clear the smoke while he landed on Worthing beach, West Sussex.

Mr Linton and his passengers escaped with only minor injuries.

The 33-year-old has been awarded the Tiger Moth Trophy - the top prize in the Civil Aviation Authority General Aviation Safety Awards for 2002.

The awards cover non-commercial flights, the vast majority of which are light aircraft.

After the award was announced on Thursday, a CAA spokesman said Mr Linton had shown "high standards of airmanship in very difficult circumstances".

The incident happened after he had taken off from Shoreham in West Sussex.




SEE ALSO:
Plane lands on German motorway
05 Nov 02  |  Europe
Light plane crash-lands
19 May 02  |  Wales


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