Student Unconscious, Pilot Forced To Hike Two Hours For Help

Improvisation has saved lives before... and it may very well have saved a New Zealand flight instructor and his student last weekend.

Pilot Instructor Richard Bateman, 27, told the Timaru Herald his Robin R2120 clipped the side of a mountain in a region of rugged terrain in New Zealand's South Island last Sunday, while he was attempting a maneuver to gain airspeed.

After impact, student pilot Nick Eagleson lost consciousness. Bateman, who suffered a broken arm and wrist, said he managed to remove the canopy and extricate Eagleson and laid him out on a wing.

"We were both strapped in, Nick was unconscious," said Bateman. "I was feeling bad, I knew I had some injuries. I was bleeding from my head and my wrist was out of shape."

"I got out and then shut everything off," he said. "I was pretty dazed."

Bateman realized a large chunk of his scalp was loose and he was bleeding profusely so went looking for his survival kit. He found tape and secured his scalp to his skull by wrapping it around from the top of his head around the bottom of his chin.

"I think I put a baseball cap on, too," he said.

"I was concerned for myself. I was losing a lot of blood, I was pretty shattered. I thought there was a fairly good possibility I could die," he told the Australian Associated Press.

After activating his personal locator beacon, in case the one on the aircraft wasn't functioning, Bateman then set off on what turned out to be a two hour trek in search of help.

"I tried to figure out the best course of action. There was nothing I could do for Nick," he said.

He arrived at a mustering hut and lit fires of dried grass as a signal to passing aircraft. A passing helicopter saw the signal and landed.

"The guy asked if I had anything to do with the plane crash. I said 'yes', jumped in, and we went to the site."

The two men were rescued and taken to a local hospital where Bateman underwent surgery to reattach his scalp and received treatment for his arm and wrist.

Eagleson underwent surgery as well, for a chipped vertebrae. He also suffered broken pelvis and head lacerations.

The Civil Aviation Authority is investigating.

FMI: www.caa.govt.nz