THE pilot of a plane which was forced to crash land near Witheridge last year has said he was "lucky to survive" the ordeal.

RAF squadron leader and Civil Aviation Authority examiner Dan Arlett, 35, was flying to Exeter airport on Sunday, April 26, 2009 on a training flight with a student who owned the BAC 167 Strikemaster jet.

Dan, who is based at RAF Leuchar in Fife, said: "While in the air the engine flamed out and my first reaction was 'this is not good'.

"I was not in shock but it woke me up and made me think it was for real."

Dan went through the restart sequence but the electrical system and the radios failed, making an emergency call impossible.

"At this point, my first thought was that we would have to eject as Devon is not blessed with fields that are a good size," he said.

Despite being 1,800ft high, Dan managed to identify a field and told his student to prepare for an emergency landing.

He said: "We touched down 100 metres into the field at about 105mph.

"Usually, as soon as the aircraft is down it stops pretty quickly, but the land was very wet and the aircraft was like a toboggan."

"While sliding along the ground I shouted 'brace, brace'.

"I moved over and put my student's hands forward.

"He was braced but I wasn't — I knew this was going to hurt and I knew I might not make it.

"I was pretty scared. I thought it was going to be pretty much terminal for me."

Despite being locked into his seat with straps, the force of the impact jolted Dan forward.

He said: "I was forced forward about the length of my arm and I smashed into the instrument panel."

After the impact, Dan heard fuel leaking. He knew a quick exit was necessary.

"I was getting nervous. I was thinking 'we're going to burn to death'."

He cut the engines, made the ejector seats safe and after releasing the canopy, the pair got out of the plane.

They managed to get to nearby Foxley Farm. Dan said he would be "forever grateful" to the property's owners for helping them.

The pair were taken to the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital where an X-ray revealed that Dan had a broken back.

He was later flown by the RAF to Nottingham's Queen's Medical Centre to receive specialist spinal care.

"It was a pretty violent accident," said Dan. "We were lucky to survive.

"I am glad it was me rather than someone less experienced but I never want to go through that again."