A 16-year-old student pilot was uninjured when low light and fog forced him to crash land in a paddock on Alpine Way near the Snowy Mountains' town of Khancoban, about 100 kilometres from Jindabyne, on Monday night.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A spokeswoman for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said the man set off on a round trip from Jindabyne Airport on Monday afternoon in a single-engine Jabiru plane, but the airstrip's chief pilot raised the alarm when he failed to return.
About 5.45pm the Snowy Hydro SouthCare helicopter was sent on a search and rescue mission near Dalgety, about 33 kilometres outside of Jindabyne in the opposite direction.
*/
]]>
The search was called off when the student contacted the chief pilot to say he had crash landed on Alpine Way, about 6km north of Khancoban.
"He'd walked to a nearby home and contacted the chief pilot to tell him what happened," the spokeswoman said.
"We believe he was uninjured."
Police have began investigating the cause of the crash.
The 16-year-old pilot was on his fourth solo flight and due to return at 4.40pm, police said.
The crash only caused minor damage to the plane's undercarriage.
An earlier version of this story incorrectly said the pilot was injured.
