Porthcawl RNLI crews race to scene as aircraft ditches in the sea

Philip Irwin 14/06/2023

2 minutes read

The RNLI crew with the ditched aircraft. Photo: Chris Page / Porthcawl RNLI.

THE volunteers at Porthcawl RNLI had an early call on Tuesday (13th June) when a light aircraft ditched in the sea near the Seabank Hotel at 9.22am.

The Atlantic 85 lifeboat launched to assist. One person was onboard and was taken into the care of volunteers from Porthcawl coastguards rescue team.

In total, three RNLI lifeboats were involved in ensuring the aircraft could not become a danger to navigation. Porthcawl’s D-class lifeboat, and a D-class lifeboat from Port Talbot were there too.

Porthcawl’s D-class lifeboat approacing the upside down light aeroplane. *Photo: RNLI/Tom Dale.*

Chris Page, RNLI Lifeboat press officer at Porthcawl said: “RNLI volunteer crews never quite know what to expect when the call for help comes. We are trained to deal with every eventuality but were incredibly relieved to arrive on scene to find the pilot was able to be safely recovered. This was a real multi-agency effort between the fire service, the Coastguard and the RNLI.”

A spokesperson from Porthcawl Coastguard also commented on the incident: “The MAYDAY call came from a light aircraft that had crashed into the sea, but one person on board had managed to escape safely.

“The team liaised with the pilot before he made his way to the hospital as a precaution.”

Yesterday (14th June) a team of coastguard volunteers from both Porthcawl and Port Talbot were re-tasked to provide safety cover to the owner recovering the aircraft who blocked off an area so the pilot and his own team could extract the light aircraft.

As this was carried out, the aircraft caught alight, and the fire service were requested to assist.

Porthcawl Coastguard spokesperson said: “The small fire was soon put out, but the request for South Wales Fire and Rescue Service to check if it was safe to extract was carried out.

“After checks were complete, the pilot and their team extracted the light aircraft up onto the prom where their trailer was waiting to take it away.

“With the light aircraft up on the prom no more safety cover was needed therefore teams were stood down and returned to their respective stations around 21:50.”