‘I’ve got a video – I’ll show ya’: Doctors question trainee pilot when he shows up with ‘blood everywhere, bits falling off’ after Sydney crash
Jake Elven was on his second flying lesson with his instructor near the Oaks airstrip when an engine failure caused the plane to fall out of the sky.
”Last thing I remember is hitting the first tree which hit the back of the plane and flipped it over,” the 27-year-old told 9News from his hospital bed.
“Then went that way for a while and woke up upside down in the bushes.
“Yeah, bit of a rough ride.”
Disoriented and bloodied, he whipped out his phone and started filming the fallout.
”Second flight in a plane and been in better condition,” Elven said in the video.
His instructor was driven to hospital by his wife who was waiting at the airstrip, while Elven made his way to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, where he’s awaiting surgery.
But it wasn’t a smooth entry, with hospital staff questioning his story.
“Show up here an hour and a half later, no shoes on, blood everywhere, bits falling off and they almost sent me to the psych ward when I told them I just had a plane crash,” he said.
“They said ‘mate I don’t think so’ and I said no I’ve got a video I’ll show ya.”
The crash hasn’t deterred him and Elven plans to get back up in the air as soon as he has recovered from his injuries.
Elven was meant to buy a seaplane for his company which is why he had been undergoing lessons.