08-13-2009, 01:03 AM
A pilot whose light aircraft crashed into a tree on a Dundee golf course has attributed his lucky escape to his love of the "Biggles" adventure stories.
Vince Hagedorn's two-seater microlight struck the trunk, on the 15th hole at the city's Caird Park Golf Course, at about 1650 BST.
He told BBC Scotland he copied his landing from one of the WWI flying ace's famous books.
Mr Hagedorn ran low on fuel after coming across bad weather.
He had been flying north to visit his daughter in Findhorn, in the north of Scotland, who had been coping with a family death.
The incident at the course, in a large area of parkland on the outskirts of Dundee, sparked a large emergency response, with police, fire service and ambulance staff attending.
Firefighters placed a 44ft ladder against the tree to reach the stranded pilot. Nobody else was injured in the incident.
Actual story web page BBC NEWS | Scotland | Tayside and Central | 'Biggles' tale saved crash pilot