Plane crashes into big wheel

FOUR people had an amazing escape yesterday after an ultra-light plane crashed into the top of a Ferris wheel. The pilot, his passenger and two children on the ride were all rescued unhurt as the plane dangled 30ft up. Witnesses at the Old Beach Festival in New South Wales, Australia, said it was lucky the Ferris wheel did not topple over as it shuddered on impact. Paul Hogan, mayor of nearby Taree, north of Sydney, said: “We have witnessed a miracle here today.” A nine-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl were rescued first from their carriage on the wheel, which had been packed with children just minutes earlier before a storm threatened. Pilot Paul Cox and his 32-year-old passenger were trapped inside the wrecked aircraft for three hours. Mr Cox, 53, later admitted he did not see the ride after his Cheetah S200 took off from a nearby airstrip. A crane was used for the rescue and fire service spokesman Ben Shepherd said: “Thankfully everyone was taken down and were able to walk away. “If the wheel had gone over then the outcome was potentially a nightmare – so we had to work both quickly and very carefully indeed.”