Crash pilot airlifted to hospital

The aircraft was destroyed by the crash

A pilot who escaped with minor injuries after his light aircraft was destroyed in a crash in the eastern Cairngorms has been airlifted to hospital.

The Cessna - which was flying from Inverness to Newcastle - came down near Mount Keen, five miles from Ballater.

The pilot had flown the aircraft from North America, and was heading for his native Austria.

An RAF helicopter flew mountain rescue teams as close to the crash site as possible in the bad weather.

Grampian Police said the pilot was found by members of Braemar Mountain Rescue Team at about 1415 BST.

Very lucky

He was taken back to the helicopter and transferred to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

Specialist registrar Scott Hepburn said the 42-year-old man, who had very minor injuries, would be kept overnight for observation.

"I think he is counting his blessings at the moment - he realises he has been very lucky," he said.

The pilot was unsure about the cause of the crash. "He asked us to thank all the emergency crews and staff involved in his rescue," he added.

The pilot was airlifted to hospital

The Austrian pilot initially called rescue services in Vienna to raise the alarm.

They transferred the call to the RAF in Farnborough, before it finally got through to the rescue centre at RAF Kinloss.

A spokesman for Grampian Police said: "We can confirm that the pilot has suffered only minor injuries.

"The aircraft was destroyed by the impact of the crash."

The man's journey had begun in America where he bought the plane two weeks ago.

Since then he has flown across Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Shetland and was heading for his native Austria.