A STUNNED trainee pilot who was left hanging upside down in his cowboy boots in a boggy field claims the plane he crash-landed in had run out of fuel.

Martyn Arthur said he feared the plane might not have enough fuel for the return trip from Manchester to Swansea before it came down to earth with a big bump near Gorseinon, just before 5pm on Wednesday.

The owner of the flying club he was training with said he'd be "absolutely amazed" if that were the case.

The four-seater Cessna flipped over on its roof in a marshy field, narrowly missing electricity pylons and houses on Pen Cefn-Arda Road, just a couple of hundred yards away.

Mr Arthur said he has submitted a statement outlining his version of events — seen by the Post — to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), which is investigating.

The shocked 58-year-old relived the surreal drama that left him uninjured, but his instructor requiring hospital treatment for cuts to his face.

Mr Arthur said: "The engine went a mile, or a mile-and-a-half, from Swansea. The instructor took over then."

He wasn't totally sure if the engine had cut out completely.

He went on: "I was not too concerned. You are trained to land without power. There were lots of green fields below."

Mr Arthur said they'd been flying at 4,000ft on the way from Manchester in good weather.

After the engine problem, Mr Arthur said he assisted by focusing on the altimeter and counting down the altitude.

He said the instructor issued a Mayday signal, which alerted Swansea Airport plus a nearby helicopter pilot.

"Then there was a bang, crash, wallop," said Mr Arthur, a self- employed forensic accountant.

Some of what happened next was a blur, with Mr Arthur realising a short time later he was upside down, strapped into his seat.

"The instructor tried to give me a hand," he said. "He was badly cut on the face. Then I saw someone in the distance, upside down. It took me two or three minutes to get out.

"I gave the instructor a bandage from the first aid kit. He was bleeding quite copiously."

Mr Arthur, who has 12 hours flying experience with Swansea- based Cambrian Flying Club, recalled being asked by air ambulance paramedics if he was injured. "Someone gave me a lift to the airstrip in a helicopter," he said. "There I met the officer from the flying club, who said he was very concerned.

"He told me the plane had been serviced six flying hours previously. As far as I am concerned the plane had been serviced properly."

See pictures and read our earlier coverage of the Gorseinon plane crash

The married grandfather from Porthcawl then phoned his family from the airport.

"I said that I had landed — and that bit was true!" he said.

"It was a strange experience — and it's not going to happen again."

AAIB investigators are due to return to the scene of the accident today.

It has refused to be drawn on any details of the incident. "We are investigating," said an AAIB spokeswoman.

Cambrian Flying Club owner Derek Clyde said the instructor suffered a broken nose. He hopes to speak to him today.

Asked about the possibility of a fuel shortage, Mr Clyde replied: "It would be absolutely amazing if that was the case."

richard.youle@swwmedia.co.uk