Emergency landing survivors look back on the unexpected happy ending for joy ride of a lifetime

FLASHBACK: What was meant to be a scenic flight turned into an emergency landing on Tugun beach watched by hundreds of beachgoers.

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IT was a joy ride with a spectacular ending.

What was meant to be a whale watching scenic flight turned into an emergency landing on Tugun beach watched by hundreds of beachgoers.

The Cessna 177RG had run out of fuel and its descending trajectory was taking its four occupants, including the pilot, directly into Currumbin’s Elephant Rock.

Twenty-two years later and survivor Pete Charleson still regards September 27, 1992 as the day he cheated death.

The crash was front page news for the Bulletin alongside the Brisbane Broncos booking their first grand final appearance after thrashing St George.

Gold Coast History 130: Gold Coast Bulletin 1992, September 28. Front page.

Mr Charleson 69, from Palm Beach, said the first signs of trouble came as the plane passed down the coastal strip before the engine made a “coughing sound”.

“We started looking for a place to land on the beach but it just happened to be badge day for the surf lifesaving clubs, so the sand was packed with kids and their mums who I think would have been pretty upset if we had come down on top of them,” he said.

“We were almost head-on with Elephant Rock and we hoped there was still a few vapours left in the engine which was switched back on and got us the lift we needed to clear it.

“The thought that went through my head as we were going down was that I hoped the next thing that went through it would not be my arse.

“By some miracle we made it and the pilot Keith put it down on the beach.”

FLASHBACK: JO LOOKS BACK ON DREAMWORLD DAYS

Plane crash survivors Pete Charleson and Merilyn (Blows) Robertson. They survived a plan crash landing on Tugun beach in September 1992. Picture: David Clark

The crash occurred just 2km short of Gold Coast Airport where the small plane was due to land – and pilot Keith Bryant was hailed a hero.

The plane’s three passengers all remain in contact with each other and still live on the Gold Coast.

Mr Bryant is understood to still be working as a pilot but now overseas.

At the time of the crash, Mr Bryant, a carpenter, had been behind the joystick since 1986 and had more than 250 hours of experience in the air. Following the crash they were dubbed the “fearless four”.

Spectators applauded after the plane, which was not damaged in the crash, was refuelled and was able to take off from the beach and landed safely at the airport.

Merilyn Blows, now 55 and a mother of two, has never again flown in a small plane.

“After we landed I could not have gotten out of the plan fast enough and we stumbled straight on to a woman who was bathing topless who got the shock of her life.”

The Bulletin will publish a souvenir liftout on Saturday, March 28 celebrating 130 years.