A40 plane crash: Aircraft plunges onto dual carriageway in Wales

Pilot and two passengers escape plane moments before it explodes

(Wales News Service/Daniel Nicholson)

A pilot and two passengers have survived with minor injuries after a light aircraft crashed onto a dual carriageway in Wales.

The trio narrowly escaped the plane moments before it exploded after smashing down onto the A40 near Abergavenny.

They were taken to hospital in an ambulance as a “precautionary measure”, a spokesperson for South Wales Fire Service said.

No cars were involved in the incident at about 11am on Sunday but a train had to make an emergency stop because the plunging aircraft felled power cables.

Western Power are at the scene of the incident.

Joel Snarr was travelling along the road when he saw plane come down – and ran to help.

“It hit the central reservation and burst into flames – it wasn’t there and suddenly it was there,” the 35-year-old ex-army sergeant told The Sun, before describing how he and another driver had managed to pull those on board clear.

“We got them away from the plane, which was getting hotter and hotter,” he said. “By the time we were walking away, it was completely on fire. It was an inferno.”

”It was a miracle no one else was on the road at the time,” he told the BBC.

He said he realised people were still inside the craft when he saw a man trying to break one of its windows.

“A young lad had managed to crawl out through the broken window, as I got there a young woman was crawling out of the window,” he said.

“I grabbed her by the belt buckle and just dragged her clear. The pilot put his hands out – grabbed both of them – pulled him out clear of the plane.

“It was an incredibly intense fire,” he added.

Daniel Nicholson, who was first on the scene and carried out the rescue alongside Mr Snarr, told the BBC that the aircraft had landed upside down.

He said the man and woman inside were both aged around 19 or 20-years-old.

Gwent Police said in a statement: “The aircraft was reported to have made an unscheduled landing in the area, colliding with overhead wiring.

“Three occupants of the light aircraft were treated by paramedics at the scene. Their injuries are not life-threatening.”

The road remained closed between Abergavenny and the village of Raglan into the afternoon, and Transport for Wales said rail services in the area were severely affected. Stagecoach Wales have also cancelled buses that use the route.

A Network Rail spokesperson said the line between Newport and Hereford was closed as a safety measure.

It is the second time in three years in which a light aircraft has crashed in the area, which is close to a private airstrip.