Paul Hollywood rushes to pilot's aid after horror plane crash in field

A pilot has recounted how Bake Off's came to his rescue after he was left blinded and struggling to breathe when his plane crashed. At noon yesterday, shortly after departing from Manston Airport in Kent, disaster struck for 58-year-old Iain Stingemore when he found himself plummeting to the ground just moments after taking to the skies.

The pilot was flying at a mere couple of hundred feet altitude and had 15 seconds to act between the catastrophic failure and his aircraft ploughing into a field near Thorne Hill, Minster.

However, celebrity baker Paul Hollywood came to his rescue in an extraordinary twist of fate, with the star practising flying nearby. judge was mid-way through a flying lesson withPolar Helicopters when he made an impromptu landing to rush to Stingemore's aid.

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Recounting the incident to KentOnline, the shaken gas engineer said, "Paul Hollywood was having a flying lesson and he checked to see if I was okay," adding, "It wasn't how I planned to meet him but he checked to see if I was okay. I said to him: 'I don't suppose you planned on doing this on your lesson?'"

The local community swiftly rallied to assist, with individuals from all over Manston hurrying to retrieve the damaged plane. Despite the harrowing ordeal, Mr. Stingemore credited his narrow escape to his extensive flight training and experience.

Five fire engines attended the scene after reports of an "emergency aircraft landing". While Mr. Stingemore escaped without serious injury, with just a graze on his leg and "damaged pride".

Recounting the crash, Mr. Stingemore said: "I was about to fly back to Stoke in Medway. I was flying out of Manston, turned right to cross the road, the canopy came off and I had about 15 seconds before I landed.

"I was at about a couple of hundred feet and climbing. I couldn't breathe or see anything."

Adding a lighter note to the tale, Mr. Stingemore spoke of a neighbour's well-meaning yet comically improvised efforts: "The owner of the house next door rushed out to help," he explained. "He bought a box of rusty tools over to help get the plane over to the airfield."

Undaunted by the harrowing ordeal, Mr. Stingemore is already plotting his return to the skies tonight in a different aircraft, since his previous one is beyond repair.

Recalling the hair-raising moment, he added, "It takes you a few seconds before you realise there is no way out. Thankfully, I was very well-trained, didn't panic, and you have to set the plane up to get it as flat and level as possible.

"It could've been very different. A lot of people panic in this situation."

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