FRANKSTON MP Paul Edbrooke says he is thankful to be alive after surviving a plane crash last week.
Edbrooke was one of 17 people aboard a Skydive Australia light plane which crashed in Connewarre near Barwon Heads shortly after taking off at around 8am on Friday, 20 October. He sustained injuries and was taken to hospital.
Ambulance Victoria has confirmed that seven people were taken to hospital after the crash – all injured are in a stable condition.
Edbrooke told The Times that he received “routine” tests in hospital and was released on Friday evening.
“Apart from a couple of cuts and bruises and whiplash, I’m cleared medically. I can’t believe it – as a former firefighter you don’t read about light planes losing power with 17 people aboard that all survived,” he said. “It’s as close to a miracle as I’ll ever see.”
Edbrooke is an experienced sky diver, who has made the jump more than 30 times. He said the pilot’s actions on Friday prevented a major disaster after the plane appeared to lose power.
“The pilot had almost no time to think,” he said. “He did the best he could and he saved our lives.
“I looked around at the more experienced divers and I saw in one person’s eyes that this was serious. We were about 800 feet in the air which means we can’t jump out. I saw the pilot and he was all out of options. I heard the call to brace and the pilot put the nose down and drove it into the shore,” he said.
Victoria Police has confirmed that those taken to hospital received non-life-threatening injuries. In a statement it said that the plane “got into difficulty before making an emergency landing nearby in Connewarre.” It confirmed it would investigate the exact cause of the crash.
Seven people were transported for treatment. A man aged in his 30s was airlifted to the Alfred with upper body injuries. Six other people were taken to University Hospital Geelong in a stable condition: a man in his 40s, three men in their 30s, and a man in his 20s. The other ten passengers were assessed by paramedics but did not require emergency treatment. Police, ambulance, and SES crews attended the crash.
Edbrooke says he hopes to return to work soon and plans to sky dive again. He said the attending emergency service workers and the Skydive Australia crew at Great Ocean Road deserved thanks for their efforts. Skydive Australia was contacted for comment.