Send In The Clowns!

It's a darn good thing for a 45-year old Australian pilot that the circus was in town.

The unidentified pilot was flying a crop dusting operation near Laidley in Queensland early Sunday morning when his engine apparently failed. Circus performer Tanya Falagan was watching television at around 0600 local time when she heard the plane's engine cut out not very far away.

"I went outside and could see it lying upside-down about 30m away," she told local reporters. "I ran back inside, dialled triple 0, woke (fellow performer Mik Matthews) up, called out to Goldie (Baird, another performer) and we raced up there."

The aircraft was full of fuel and pesticide when it apparently struck some power lines and crashed, according to local authorities. The wreckage landed near the Laidley Showgrounds. Falagan, Matthews, Baird and two farmers rushed to the crash site, where they found the pilot pinned in the wreckage.

"It was very upsetting to see him so hurt," Falagan said. "He wasn't yelling, but he was anxious. We were trying to reassure him but he just kept saying, 'don't talk about it, just get me out of here'."

That's just what they did. As one farmer lifted the tail of the wrecked aircraft, the show people reached underneath and gingerly extracted the pilot. He was rushed to a hospital in Brisbaine, where he was being treated for "serious" head and chest injuries.

Queensland Fire and Rescue's local director, John French, had nothing but praise for the rescuers.

"They did an excellent job," he said. "They are the real heroes."

FMI: www.casa.gov.au