A glider pilot has spoken out about the terrifying moment he was forced to crash land in the Pilliga Forrest, during a competition.
Paul Mander was flying from Wee Waa to Lake Keepit near Gunnedah last night as part of a national gliding competition, when things went wrong at about 5pm.
“I found myself in a really awful position in the middle of the scrub where to turn back was disaster and to keep going was problematic,” he said.
Mr Mander crash landed in isolated bushland, where he remained stranded for several hours, before being rescued by the Westpac Rescue Helicopter, which flew from Newcastle.
The Tamworth chopper could have been there in 30 minues, but government regulations about staff training mean it’s no longer allowed to perform winching operations.
