'I'm scared... get me out': UKIP candidate Nigel Farage pulled alive from plane wreckage after election day crash

 

 

By Nicola Boden

Last updated at 5:44 PM on 6th May 2010

 

 

• Comments (181)
  
• Add to My Stories
  

 

 

 

• Plane smashes into ground during election day stunt
  
• Gust of wind flicks 15ft UKIP banner onto tail fin
  
  
• Terrified Farage is pulled from the wreckage
  
  
• He has chipped spine, damaged breastbone and broken ribs
  
  
• Pilot trapped for an hour before he is freed by firemen
  
  

UKIP candidate Nigel Farage tonight said he was 'lucky to be alive' after a miracle escape from a horrific plane crash when a last-minute election stunt went dramatically wrong.

 

Mr Farage is being treated in hospital after chipping his spine, damaging his breastbone and breaking two ribs in the accident, which came barely an hour after polling booths opened.

 

He was hauled to safety with blood trickling down his face after the aircraft plummeted to the ground at 70mph when a banner declaring 'Vote for your country, vote UKIP' became tangled in its tail fin.

 

The impact was so strong that the engine broke off and the plane flipped over onto its roof, leaving the flamboyant politician and pilot Justin Adams bent double under the shattered fuselage.

 

Still strapped in, they were stuck face down on the grass - Mr Farage's pin-striped suit trousers torn and Mr Adams without one shoe.

 

Aides rushing to the wrecked plane initially feared they were both dead because there were such chaotic scenes at the private airfield in Northamptonshire.

 

But when they reached the aircraft, both were conscious and Mr Farage could be heard moaning 'get me out'. The blood-splattered Westminster hopeful was clearly terrified as he was helped to his feet.

Scroll down for video

Enlarge Election day drama: The remains of the plane after it crashed at Hinton-in-the-Hedges airfield near Brackley

 

Enlarge Lucky escape: The aircraft's engine lies some distance from body of the plane on the private airfield

 

The usually ebullient politician, still with his party rosette pinned to his lapel, muttered 'I'm scared, I'm scared, I'm scared' as paramedics rushed to the scene.

He had already performed the same stunt twice during the election campaign without incident and had invited photographers along to capture the final flourish.

 

Moments before the two-seater plane had taken off, the high-profile Eurosceptic had smoked a cigarette and joked: 'I just hope the plane doesn't blow up and crash.'

 

More...

 

 

• Caught on film: BNP candidate punches and kicks Asians after being spat at on campaign trail
  
• Britain decides: Millions cast their votes as final polls show we're heading for a hung parliament
  

 

In a statement from his hospital bed tonight, Mr Farage, 46, said: 'We've both had a miraculous escape. We are both very lucky to be alive.'

Clearly dazed after the accident, the twice-married father-of-four at first seemed to have walked away with just cuts to his face and minor head injuries.

But after he was rushed to Horton Hospital in Banbury for a full body scan, it emerged he was more seriously hurt and he was transferred to John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford for more specialist care.

Enlarge Drama: Mr Farage is trying to oust Commons Speaker John Bercow

 

UKIP say he will not be at tomorrow afternoon's vote count in Buckingham, where he has defied convention to challenge Commons Speaker John Bercow in one of the key election battles of the campaign. Luckily he had already voted by post.

 

A hospital spokesman said: 'He will be with us for a few days.' Party leader Lord Pearson said he was in 'considerable pain' but had recovered enough to urge everyone to stay focused on the election.

 

UKIP spokesman Duncan Barkes added: 'He is not going anywhere today. There is no way he will be at the count tomorrow. He's got two broken ribs, a small chip to his spine and damage to his sternum.'

Describing how Mr Farage was feeling, he said: 'Of course he's shaken up, but he is mostly feeling incredibly lucky to get out of the plane. He's just been worried about the pilot.'

He added: 'As soon as he came out he wanted a cigarette. You wouldn't expect anything else really.'

 

Mr Adams was trapped for about an hour before firefighters managed to free him.

 

He was airlifted to hospital in Coventry where he is in a stable condition tonight. He suffered serious injuries, believed to be to his leg and back, but they are not life-threatening.

 

Mr Farage, a south east MEP and former UKIP leader, had decided he wanted to do something different to mark election day and opted for an airborne stunt first thing this morning.

 

But it dramatically backfired just 10 minutes after the plane took off at the Hinton-in-the-Hedges airfield near Brackley, Northants.

 

The single-engine Polish plane - a PZL-104 Wilga (Golden Oriole) - had circled the airfield six times as it tried unsuccessfully to hook up a 15ft UKIP banner, which was tethered to the ground.

On the seventh run, it finally managed to pick it up and took to the air but a gust of wind flicked the banner into the tail fin - forcing the plane to lose control.

At around 8am, the blue and red aircraft suddenly nosedived into the ground in front of the watching media.

 

The pilot had issued a May Day signal and desperately tried to call for help on his mobile phone in the seconds before the impact.

 

Police said both men were lucky not to have been more severely wounded or even killed.

 

'One minute he was in his plane thinking about his campaign or something and the next minute he was trapped in a crashed plane. I'm surprised he did not break his neck.' Eyewitness Neil Hall

Detective Chief Inspector Martin Kinchin said: 'Looking at the wreckage behind me, I think you can make your own judgment as to how lucky they were.'

Photographer Neil Hall saw the drama unfold. He said: 'His plane was about 10 metres off the ground when the banner became tangled in the rear tail rudder, and it nosedived quickly into the ground.

'One minute it was in the air, the next it was a cloud of dust. It simply nosedived without any warning. I was horrified and drove across the airfield with his PR colleague, Duncan Barkes, expecting to find two dead bodies.

 

'It looked like the front of the plane had completely flattened. I could see Nigel's leg sticking out, and feared he was dead. Then I heard him moaning saying "get me out", "get me out". With the help of a passing cyclist, we managed to pull Nigel out.

'Blood was pouring from his mouth. I think he had cut his lip with his tooth. He was dazed and confused. He was conscious, but utterly scared. When he got out he just kept asking for his phone. He said 'I've lost my phone'. Enlarge

This aerial image shows how the plane landed upside down with the engine ending up some distance behind it

Enlarge

'I said "Nigel you're in shock" and he just said "I'm scared, I'm scared, I'm scared". He had a cigarette and then felt a bit better. I gave him my coat and I was chatting to an ambulance woman who was saying keep him warm. He did not know what to do with himself. It was complete shock.

'One minute he was in his plane thinking about his campaign or something and the next minute he was trapped in a crashed plane. I'm surprised he did not break his neck.

 

'The pilot was conscious but had his legs trapped. The PR man Duncan spoke to him and he said the banner had got caught in the tail.'

Hall said Mr Farage had been in good spirits before take-off and even joked about it crashing before he went up.

He said: 'I got there at 7am and Nigel turned up with an aide. He said he wanted to do something different on election day and not just do a shot of him at the ballot box.

 

'We took some shots in front of the plane and him with the banner. He had a quick fag before he took off and joked that he hoped the plane wouldn't explode and crash.'

Another eyewitness said: 'He [the pilot] was coming around to do another run and then it fell out of the sky, and flipped over on its front. It was all over in a couple of seconds. I really thought they had both died.'

 

 

Enlarge This is the banner that was being pulled by the plane. It is believed it became entangled in the tail fin causing the pilot to lose control

 

 

 

 

Mr Farage's wife Kirsten was at his bedside earlier today but later returned to their home in Westerham, Kent, to care for the couple's two children.

His campaign manager Chris Adams was visibly shocked as he visited the crash site this afternoon.

'I'm absolutely shocked and stunned to see how anyone got out of that alive. I'm still trembling now. I'm absolutely shocked as Nigel is a dear friend of mine,' he said.

 

'Apparently the plane nose-dived. We had a banner attached to the back of the plane which basically got wrapped around the tail.

 

'The pilot had sent out a May Day signal and it basically crash dived. It's all a bit of a shock, especially on polling day.'

UKIP leader Lord Pearson said: 'It is clear that both men had a remarkably lucky escape', but indicated that Mr Farage had shaken off much of his early shock by this afternoon.

'Despite being in considerable pain, we deduce that Nigel is back to something like his normal form,' he said. 'He told Ukip's Banbury candidate Dr Sebastian Fairweather, who gained access to him in hospital, to "stop worrying about me, get back out there and get out the vote".'

 

Mr Farage's constituency rival, Mr Bercow, said: 'I wish Nigel Farage and his pilot a full and speedy recovery.'

 

His wife, Sally wrote on Twitter: 'Shocked at news that Ukip's Nigel Farage has been involved in plane crash. But glad he appears to be OK.'

 

It emerged after the crash that the same aircraft was involved in another accident while towing a banner four years ago.

 

An investigation had been unable to work out how the earlier incident in Cranleigh, Surrey, happened and the plane was returned to operation.

 

Enlarge Election day accident: Nigel Farage, seen here earlier this month with his banner and light aircraft, has been injured in a plane crash

 

Robert Walker, from East Midlands Ambulance Service, said today: '[A call] came in to us at 7.54am to say a light aircraft had crashed at Hinton in the hedges.

 

'We attended and took the passenger to Hospital in Horton, Banbury. The pilot was taken by air ambulance to Coventry and Walsgrave Hospital which is a major trauma centre.

 

'We do not believe that his injuries our life threatening but they are serious - we think at this stage it is issues with his back.'

 

A spokesman for Northampton fire control said: 'We were called to an aircraft crashed on the airfield but not on fire with two persons trapped. Our first message was it was an aircraft overturned and a fuel spillage.

 

'We received the call at 7.59am from the ambulance service of one light aircraft overturned. One person had been rescued the pilot was cut out of the plane by 9.06am.'

Three fire engines were sent to the crash, one from Brackley, one from Buckinghamshire, and an emergency tender from Mereway, Northants.

 

A spokesman for the Air Accident Investigation Branch said: 'We will be investigating this incident and the circumstances surrounding it.

 

'At the moment we are assessing initially reports into the circumstances leading up to the incident before a decision is made on how we proceed.'

 

Hinton Airfield is a small private airfield in the south of Northamptonshire, near Brackley. It was turned into an airfield in 1939 during World War II.

 

Mr Farage quit as UKIP leader last September to pursue his bid to oust Mr Bercow from his seat in Buckingham.

At the time, he said he wanted to stand because MPs had 'broken the trust' of the British people. He claimed Mr Bercow, who was exposed for flipping his second home, 'represented the worst' of the Commons.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/election/article-1273591/General-Election-2010-UKIP-candidate-Nigel-Farage-dramatic-plane-crash-election-banner-catches-tail-fin.html#ixzz0nAbVeB7S

Voted :)

Anybody going to stay up all night to watch the results come in?

Anybody going to stay up all night to watch the results come in?

 

It looks like I will. Just minutes to go now until polls close and the crucial Exit Poll result is shown. What will it show? A hung parliament with Labour or Conservative as the largest party or a Tory majority? It's all very exciting now!

Rumors of a "hung" Parliament.

I'm amazed at the s******s towards the term hung parliament!

 

 

If the exit poll is right then the Tories will be the LARGEST in a hung parliament BUT is this poll right? Because the Lib Dems have been shown set to LOSR not gain seats at this election. That would be the shock of the night if that happends after his surge in support over the past 4 weeks.

http://search.twitter.com/search?q=withington

 

hundreds of voters unable to vote because the queues are too long, including just up the road here in Withington Manchester. Rules are rules 7am - 10pm!

 

Heard on ITV coverage of people descending to Nick Clegg's house to complain that they were unable to vote in Sheffield on time! :lol:

I'm amazed at the s******s towards the term hung parliament!

 

 

If the exit poll is right then the Tories will be the LARGEST in a hung parliament BUT is this poll right? Because the Lib Dems have been shown set to LOSR not gain seats at this election. That would be the shock of the night if that happends after his surge in support over the past 4 weeks.

According to the first result from Sunderland the swing to Conservative is bigger than the exit polls suggest. I would not be surprised to wake up to majority government of over 326 seats!

According to the first result from Sunderland the swing to Conservative is bigger than the exit polls suggest. I would not be surprised to wake up to majority government of over 326 seats!

 

I think we'd all but anything's possible.

Sheffield constituency returning officer is blaming queues on hoardes of students arriving without polling cards!

Damn those students! Raise their taxes!

Sheffield constituency returning officer is blaming queues on hoardes of students arriving without polling cards!

 

If the exit poll is right, then no wonder Cleggy is going to have a bad night if his following couldn't vote! Should have voted earlier the idiots!

There was no queue in my polling station at 7.20am this morning. Just two people manning the table swigging very strong coffee!

So, when do we know the results?

exciting this.. :wideeyed:

 

 

the latest: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/default.stm

The results are coming in as we speak, thick and fast now. But a hung parliament looms over Britain. The surprise of the night is that Nick Clegg's Lib Dems aren't making the major gains they were hoping for. No one is having a good night and neither are getting what they want.

 

The Conservatives of David Cameron are looking likely to be the biggest party in parliament. He may have to push through a deal with the Lib Dems to form a government or may act as a minority government. But it's still possible the losing Labour Party can crack a deal with the Lib Dems to form a government. However with the performances of Lib Dem and Labour looking poor, it would be an utter travesty if that was to be the ultimate outcome considering many people didn't vote for the losing parties to form government. Considering the Tories will be the biggest party it has to be their right.

 

It could all get too complicated for everyone though in terms of deals to the point that whoever is Prime Minister, may have to call another election in a few months time. I'm suspecting the chances of that scenario may be rising as I type! This amount of confusion and the inevitable dillydallying that is to come is not good considering the economy around the world is going tits up. It really is the worst time to have an election.

So the final seats are coming in (85 currently)

 

Conservatives - 271

Labour - 220

Lib Dems - 47

others - 27

 

Just a strange, incredible night. We guffawed at the sight of the exit poll saying that the Lib Dems would lose seats. That is a reality now. Tories will be the largest party falling short of a majority. It is now over to the party leaders and possibly the Queen.

The real PM (Peter Mandelson) is refusing to concede defeat.:dozey:

The real PM (Peter Mandelson) is refusing to concede defeat.:dozey:

 

That evil man! If Labour and Gordon Brown are able to hold on to power voters like myself and the vast majority of voters (over 70%) will feel cheated! Just like Zimbabwe!

Also - it's looking increasingly likely that the Queen will have a major part to play. I feel that she will eventually have to call for David Cameron.

 

Alternatively in very extreme circumstances she herself can call another General Election. We could possibly be seeing the Queen excercise her vast but rarely used powers! The wonders of living in the world's greatest monarchy!

That evil man! If Labour and Gordon Brown are able to hold on to power voters like myself and the vast majority of voters (over 70%) will feel cheated! Just like Zimbabwe!

 

The way things are going, the UK will soon be in a worse state than Zimbabwe!:(

The way things are going, the UK will soon be in a worse state than Zimbabwe!:(

 

I sure hope not. I don't want to be paying £100 million for a loaf of bread!

I sure hope not. I don't want to be paying £100 million for a loaf of bread!

 

Well protesters, dissenters and hecklers are already dealt with in a similar way!:(

Well it is official. Westminster has a hung parliament. Will the British public REALLY accept a Lab/Lib coalition? Over 70% of the country has voted against Labour. Will they be happy if they find out that Gordon Brown, who's party has lost badly, is still Prime Minister?? And even if they replace Brown with say Miliband, we didn't vote for that either! Miliband wasn't exactly the one contesting the TV debates against Clegg and Cameron!

Labour were thrashed by the Tories, the Lib Dems flopped . . . but now Brown and Clegg could conspire to keep Cameron out of No10

 

 

By James Chapman and Niall Firth

Last updated at 9:44 AM on 7th May 2010

 

 

• Comments (550)
  
• Videos
  
• Add to My Stories
  

 

 

• Brown to cling on to power as he seeks coalition in hung parliament
  
• Cameron calls for Labour to step aside
  
• Nick Clegg concedes Lib Dems had 'disappointing' night
  
• North/South divide as Tories fail to make gains in Scotland
  
• Top Labour scalps Charles Clarke and Jacqui Smith lose seats
  
• Turnout poised to be highest since Major's shock victory in 1992
  
• Voters furious after being turned away from overcrowded polling stations
  
• Greens win first ever seat as Caroline Lucas takes Brighton Pavilion
  

 

Gordon Brown was back in Downing Street this morning - and seemingly determined to hang on to power despite being overwhelmingly rejected at the polls.

 

David Cameron today called on Mr Brown to quit as Prime Minister and said he had lost his 'mandate to govern'.

 

The Tories trounced Mr Brown in the popular vote but failed to achieve the overall Commons majority that would have automatically evicted him.

 

But as Britain woke to the nightmare scenario of a hung parliament this morning, the Prime Minister seemed desperate to cling on via a coalition with the Lib Dems - who failed to live up to the hype of 'Cleggmania'.

 

As the sitting Prime Minister, convention dictates that he is given the first chance to form a government if there is no clear win at the polls.

With 36 seats still to be counted, the Tories had secured 289 MPs - making it impossible for them to reach the 326 threshold for an overall majority. The result means Britain is left with its first hung parliament since 1974.

 

According to the latest BBC poll projections a combined Lib-Lab coalition would have just one more seat than the Tories plus the Unionists in Northern Ireland.

 

The deadlock heralds the start of frantic horse-trading behind closed doors with the Tories pushing for a minority government while Labour desperately court the Lib Dems in order to tie up a coalition.

And it leaves Britain effectively leaderless as the world plunged deeper into economic crisis with the sovereign debt panic sending the New York stock exchange down by 1,000 points in a day. This morning UK shares and sterling both slumped.

 

Lord Mandelson left the door open to Gordon Brown being jettisoned by his own party this morning, indicating Labour are willing to do anything to stay in power.

 

 

Back home: Gordon Brown arrives at Downing street after his party was trounced in the polls overnight

 

Asked later if it would be 'inconceivable' to have a Labour minority or coalition government which did not have Gordon Brown as Prime Minister, Lord Mandelson said: 'Frankly there are quite a number of permutations.'

Worringly for the Prime Minister he added that he was 'not ruling in or ruling out anything'.

But asked if Mr Brown could stand down as Prime Minister today, Lord Mandelson said: 'I think that would be rather a surprising thing to happen.

 

'He is the Prime Minister. I don't think it would help matters if he were suddenly to stand aside.'

 

Nick Clegg has already called for the parties to take time, making it likely there will be a drawn-out battle for power.

 

The Lib Dem leader is set to make an announcement at 10.30 this morning.

 

The Tories are set to win 306 seats, with Labour on 262 and the Lib Dems on 55, with 27 seats for other parties, according to the BBC.

This would leave David Cameron 20 short of an overall majority.

What happens now?

 

The parties will resort to backroom deal-making to decide how the country will be run.

 

Convention dictates that Gordon Brown, as the incumbent Prime Minister, stays in office until it is clear who has the most support.

 

As the sitting PM, he has the first right to try to form a government - heralding frantic horse-trading with the Lib Dems. If he feels he cannot continue because he has been rejected by the people, he will offer the Queen his resignation.

 

Senior Labour figures could also demand he stands down to allow them to make a Lib-Lab pact and stay in power. The Queen has indicated she should not be contacted before 1pm today, meaning hours of desperate talks in Westminster.

 

If Labour cannot secure a deal, David Cameron will get his chance to try to form the next administration.

 

He has hinted he will try to run a minority government rather than ally with the Lib Dems but this will depend on the final figures.

 

There is no formal deadline for forming a new government but a weekend deal would avoid chaos on the markets on Monday.

 

In theory, it could not be completed until May 25, the date of the next Queen's Speech which has to be backed in the Commons for the government to stand.

 

If no party is able to form a government a second election could be called or the Queen could demand Mr Brown stays as PM in a minority government.

 

 

 

Mr Brown was in talks with key lieutenants including Lord Mandelson, campaign co-ordinator Douglas Alexander and former Lib Dem Lord Adonis at Labour HQ in London before returning to Number 10.

 

And Mr Cameron was this morning holed up with his own advisors planning his next moves as the Tories looked to have failed to secure an overall majority.

A spokesman for Mr Brown said: 'The Prime Minister is to return to Downing Street to get some rest and see his family.

 

'We will not rush into making any statements until the election results are clearer.'

 

But sources indicated he was ready to embark on days of talks aimed at piecing together a coalition.

As he was re-elected in his constituency in Witney last night, Mr Cameron said: 'I believe it's already clear that the Labour government has lost its mandate to govern our country.

 

'I can see also that the Conservative Party is on target to win more seats at this election than we have done at any election in perhaps as long as 80 years.'

 

He added: 'What's clear from these results is that the country, our country, wants change.

'That change is going to require new leadership and we will stand ready to do all we can to help bring that leadership.'

And Mr Cameron appeared to acknowledge that the Tories had failed to secure an outright win.

 

He left the door open to a coalition government as he said he would be guided by the national interest in the 'hours, or perhaps longer than hours' ahead.

Nick Clegg admitted that it had been a 'disappointing night' for the Lib Dems. But he urged caution for party leaders planning on making snap decision on possible coalitions.

 

'I don't think anyone should rush into making claims or taking decisions that don't stand the test of time,' he said.

David and Samantha Cameron arrive at Tory HQ at Millbank Tower this morning

 

'I think it would be best if everybody were just to take a little time so people get the good government they deserve.'

Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling said that Conservatives would wait until they saw the final shape of the new Parliament before they decided whether to talk to other parties.

 

Mr Grayling told GMTV: 'First and foremost, we are not talking to anyone. We are going to go off and have a couple of hours sleep and we are going to see the rest of the results come through during the course of the day.'

 

He said that voters had given a 'big thumbs down' to Mr Brown.

 

'I think most of the British people this morning will look at the idea of Gordon Brown still in Downing Street, still trying to hold on to power, as being quite extraordinary,' said Mr Grayling.

 

Senior Labour figures immediately began touting for a power-sharing deal with the Liberal Democrats and other smaller parties in a desperate bid to cling to power.

To add to the sense of chaos around the result, voters were locked out of polling stations, ballot papers ran out and police were called as people staged sit-ins after being denied a vote.

 

Tens of thousands of people were denied the chance to exercise their democratic right to cast a vote in a night that shamed British democracy and which raised the extraordinary prospect of legal challenges to results in key marginal seats, further delaying any final outcome.

A dreadful night for Labour saw the party lose a string of high-profile figures. The list was topped by the disgraced former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, who was ousted on a huge 9.2 per cent swing to the Conservatives.

 

After giving a congratulatory speech to her successor, Ms Smith appeared visibly upset and fighting tears as she departed the Town Hall with her team, leaving in a waiting car.

Another former Home Secretary Charles Clarke - a persistent critic of Gordon Brown - also lost his seat to the Lib Dems.

But the Schools Secretary Ed Balls saw off a serious challenge from the Conservatives to hold his Morley and Outwood constituency in West Yorkshire. His majority was slashed from almost 10,000 to just 1,000.

 

 

STATE OF PLAY AT 7.25AM

 

Party Seats Net gain/loss Total votes

Conservative 282 +86 9,733,065

 

Labour 228 -80 7,660,769

 

Lib Dem 49 -6 6,102,981

 

 

 

And Shadow Home Secretary William Hague said that it would be 'arrogant' for Labour politicians to try and cling on 'after such a decisive rejection'.

 

To win a majority the Tories would need a swing from Labour of around 7 per cent – but in many parts of the country they were doing better than that.

The Tories were striking unexpectedly deep into Labour and Lib Dem territory in some areas, but pollsters said Mr Cameron was till looking likely to fall short of a majority.

But if Mr Cameron's party does fall short of an overall majority, as the exit polls suggest, Gordon Brown will remain Prime Minister and have the first chance at trying to form a viable government.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/election/article-1274068/UK-ELECTION-RESULTS-2010-David-Cameron-demands-Gordon-Brown-vacates-No10.html#ixzz0nESvIyJJ