Pilot ‘convinced he would die’ after microlight crash

A flight instructor, who was “firmly convinced he was going to die” when the microlight he was in went into a steep dive, alerted emergency services to the accident location by using the GPS app on his mobile phone.

Instructor Vincent Vaughan, 48, from Mullinahone, Co Tipperary, suffered a broken leg, while Gerard Murphy, 46, from Ballincollig, Co Cork, had more serious injuries in an accident that left the UK-registered Pegasus Quantum Microlite destroyed.

Mr Vaughan told air accident investigators that it was “to his surprise” that both he and the pilot survived the impact of the crash on Aug 9, 2011, at Ballyduggan, Co Tipperary. The pilots had left from Kilkenny airfield.