Abandon plane

Stuff reports:

A pilot is being praised for his quick thinking which ensured 12 skydivers escaped virtually unscathed when their light plane plunged into Lake Taupo today.

About 12.15pm the bright pink aircraft crashed 200 metres from shore at Rotongaio Bay, on State Highway 1 south of Taupo, sinking in 3.5m of water.

Remarkably, none of the 13 onboard who were forced to leap for their lives – the pilot, six crew members and six passengers – were injured.

“Where the pilot is concerned I can’t praise the guy enough,” Skydive Taupo chief executive Roy Clements told SunLive.

“He had to deal with the worst nightmare really for a pilot, what appears to be an engine failure. As a result he’s told everyone to get out of the plane, and he’s followed his own advice.”

Remarkable. Could have been a massive tragedy, but by good luck they were all skydivers, and everyone parachuted out before it crashed.