Glider pilot thanks SCAA crew after devastating crash

David knew within seconds of his glider taking to the air on a cable winch launch that he was in trouble. 

"I hadn't locked the canopy properly and I knew I was in a very dangerous situation." 

As soon as he released the glider at 500 feet, David elected to try a full 360 degrees turn and head back to the airfield at Scotlandwell. 

"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," explained David. "I was struggling to turn her as I was trying to hold on to the canopy, open the flaps for the air brakes and operate the controls. 

"I gripped the control between my knees and that's when things went from bad to worse," he recalled. "The aircraft went into a dive, the canopy came off and the bracket broke my arm - I didn't have control of the aircraft in the seconds before impact." 

David's glider struck the ground at 70 mph, nose down, and cartwheeled before coming to rest upside down at the front of the airfield. 

"I was still conscious after the impact but I was trapped face down," said David. "I knew I hadn't broken my neck as I could wiggle my legs and feet but I couldn't see anything out of my right eye and my right arm looked like it had two elbows." 

David bravely used his good left arm to manoeuvre his badly fractured right arm back into a natural position. 

"The pain was excruciating in my eye and that overpowered the pain in my arm," he said. 

David's crash was witnessed from the airfield and help arrived quickly with people switching off the battery and reassuring him that an ambulance was on its way. 

"SCAA was next to arrive - I didn't hear the helicopter coming in but people told me they were there and I was aware of calm, reassuring professionals being at my side which was extremely comforting," said David. 

"My harness was cut free and a local farmer used his tractor to lift the aircraft off me, leaving me on the ground and the paramedics able to tend me more easily. 

"It's all a bit hazy but I knew I was in safe hands," he said. "They were brilliant - calming me and reassuring me while stabilising me and preparing me for the helicopter flight. It just seemed minutes later that we arrived at Ninewells Hospital." 

David's catalogue of injuries included a broken arm and dislocated shoulder, hip and leg injuries, internal injuries, face lacerations and arm nerve damage. 

"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," he said. "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." 

A year on, David still has health issues resulting from the air crash. But he's in no doubt SCAA played a major role in supporting his life that day. 

"Being airlifted rather than bumped along the road made a huge difference and the speed SCAA got me to hospital was also a major factor in my treatment and recovery," he said. 

"SCAA is a brilliant charity - their care is faultless - and they were there for me when I stared death in the face as I plummeted towards the ground and helped pull me through. A thank you seems so inadequate but I do thank them - from the bottom of my heart."

David talk with SCAA paramedic Wendy, who responded with Helimed 76 to his glider accident.