Scots pilot 'broken and battered' after crashing glider into ground at 70mph

dailyrecord.co.uk:

An experienced Scots pilot was left "broken and battered" after crashing his glider nose first into a field at 70mph. David Carus found himself in excruciating pain and trapped face down in the wreckage after the aircraft plunged to the ground near Scotlandwell, Kinross-shire.The pensioner was unable to see out of one eye and was forced to manipulate a badly broken arm back into position as he waited for help.

Thankfully, witnesses from the nearby airfield raced to his aid with a farmer using a tractor to lift the glider off him on October 12, 2021.Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA) was called to the scene before whisking the then 69-year-old to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.

He received treatment for a catalogue of painful injuries including a dislocated shoulder, hip and leg wounds, internal injuries, face lacerations and nerve damage.Recalling the crash, which happened as he was trying to return to land, Dundee man David, 71, said: "I have made around 600 flights and that day I made a stupid mistake that brought me as near to death as I ever want to come. "I had been looking forward to a long flight ahead of a family gathering for my 70th birthday the following day and instead I 'celebrated' it lying broken and battered in a hospital bed."I hadn't locked the canopy properly and I knew I was in a very dangerous situation.

If the canopy flew off it could hit the tail or there would be enormous aerodynamic drag on the open cockpit. "Either eventuality would be disastrous.