THE pilot who was injured after crash landing at Abingdon Air Show is stable in hospital and expected to make a full recovery.

Peter Wells, who was flying the other Twister Aerobatics plane, said his colleague, who he refused to name, was recovering in the John Radcliffe Hospital but there was ‘nothing that won’t mend’.

Mr Wells said: “I spent seven hours with him in the hospital and I actually helped him out of the wreckage.

“The aeroplane is incredibly strong, it has a cockpit like an F1 car and although the impact was heavy and he has sustained injuries it’s nothing that won’t mend.

“He’s compos mentis, just a bit sore.”

The Twister Aerobatics team leader, who is based near Thame, said he thought an engine problem may have led to the crash landing but did not want to speculate further.

The pair were putting on a display at Abingdon Airfield on Sunday when the Twister aircraft came down in a ‘wheels up’ landing shortly before 2.30pm.

A number of ambulances and two fire crews arrived quickly at the scene and the pilot remained in the plane for around 20 minutes at emergency services cut him out.

The aircraft remained intact despite the heavy impact and the pilot was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital after being checked over paramedics.

Footage emerged yesterday of the dramatic descent of the plane as it crossed the sky above the air show.

Spectator Mark Taylor caught the seconds before the crash on his phone as it sharply dived down behind one of the tents - separate footage showed the hard landing and plane bouncing along the grass.

An eyewitness on a flying forum said: “It could have been a lot lot worse, his quick reaction and decision saved him.”

Another onlooker Alastair Fear said he had expected the crash to be much worse when he saw the plane nosedive.

He said: “I ran over to where the plane had dropped and I expected to see smoke and flames.

“There was no movement for about 20 seconds before emergency services arrived.

“They questioned the pilot and checked him over but thankfully he was conscious.”

The Abingdon man added: “The planes were flying parallel to the spectators and not over them, when it landed it skewed towards people but it wasn’t very close to anyone.”

Thames Valley Police spokeswoman Lucy Billen confirmed that a low-level plane had come down and its single occupant taken to hospital.

She said: “They were breathing and conscious. Ambulance and fire crews attended and the relevant air authorities have been notified.”

It will now be investigated by the Government’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch.

The Aviation Safety Network logged the incident and described it as ‘an emergency landing accident’ with engine mechanical issues to be confirmed.

Air show activity was temporarily suspended before resuming with the rest of the displays at 4pm.

Despite the crash show goers praised the annual event, which featured air, military and countryside displays.

The organisers of Abingdon Air Show failed to respond to a request for comment.