Pilot who survived week in the wild to continue flying

A KENYAN pilot who survived more than a week eating leaves and drinking his urine after crashing in dense forest says he will continue flying, despite cheating death in his second accident in two years.

Captain Solomon Nyanjui of the Kenya Wildlife Service was feared dead after his helicopter went missing during a November 15 flight from Isiolo town to the capital Nairobi. But heavy vegetation slowed his speed as he lost power and crashed near snow-capped Mount Kenya.

“I realised even leaves are sweet because I fed on them for a while in the jungle,” Mr Nyanjui told reporters from his hospital bed,

As a huge search was launched, the pilot endured an eight-day ordeal, sheltering from torrential rain in the wreckage.

“I could see the choppers flying above me but I am sure they could not see me or the plane due to the thick canopy,” Mr Nyanjui said.

One night, elephants rocked the aircraft, as he nursed broken ribs inside.

After two days’ searching, he found the battery for his mobile phone and sent an SMS text message to a friend, which rescuers used to trace his rough location.

Eight days after the crash he was found by local farmers, collapsed by a stream. Though this was his second brush with death Mr Nyanjui said: “When the doctor says I am free to go home, I will go back to my work.” He has been a pilot for 27 years.