THE pilot who successfully managed to ditch his wingwalker display aircraft into the water after suffering a loss of engine power has spoken of the “profound relief” in realising no one had been seriously injured.

David Barrell was in the cockpit of the AeroSuperBatics bi-plane when it suffered a problem during a display at last year’s Bournemouth Air Festival.

Within four minutes of first realising there was an issue, Mr Barrell had managed to act quickly to find a clear area of water off Sandbanks.

A report by the Air Accident Investigation Branch detailed his quick-thinking and calm approach which ensured a tragedy was prevented.

Mr Barrell and wingwalker Kirstin Pobjoy were able to escape from the aircraft unaided before being pulled out of the water by family in a dinghy.

Following the publication of the AAIB report into the incident, Mr Barrell shared a detailed post on social media about the events of September 4 last year.

He wrote: “I wanted to take a moment to thank you all for your kindness, good wishes and support over the past 13 months since our ditching. “When you’re in the hot seat, and you have a little under four mins to try to sort things out, not only have you got the aircraft issue to deal with, you have the life of your crew member in your hands, and the need to avoid tens of thousands of members of the public on the ground.

“Every decision you make is ultimately to protect lives, those decisions are made instantly and are constantly reassessed as the situation progresses.

“When the prop stops turning, thinking moves up a gear. You know you’re not going to reach open ground, and you know you’re going down. Having briefed ditching procedures countless times, putting it into practice was something you don’t anticipate, but are more than prepared for.

“With your hand forced, you continue to fly the aircraft and you pick the one clear area that gives you the best chance, bank the aircraft hard and aim for it, trying to land as slowly as possible.

“Nothing really prepares you for what happens next. The impact, the deceleration, is fierce. The plane instantly flips upside down and you are immediately plunged into the water, inverted and sinking.

"Unclipping both harnesses in the blackness, headset screeching, hoping your crew member is doing the same, and then experiencing profound relief when you both surface safe and well."

Mr Barrell added: “My grateful thanks to Libby, Alan and family for coming to mine and Kirsten’s aid; to TSA Consulting, Coastguard, RNLI, police, ambulance service, Poole Hospital A and E, and Bournemouth Council for their swift response and exemplary professionalism.”

The AAIB report concluded that the plane’s loss of engine power was due to a failure of the oil inlet pipe.