Flying instructor Quentin Carter reveals lucky escape from Gympie crash

An aviation instructor has experienced a ‘miraculous’ escape from a horror plane crash, the second he survived in a matter of years, revealing injuries have left him feeling trapped in his own body.

A plane crash into bushland east of Gympie on August 29.

An aviation instructor has detailed his ‘miraculous’ escape from a plane crash, the second he survived in a matter of years, revealing injuries have left him trapped in his own body and cast a shadow over his return to the sky.

Sunshine Coast Aero Club member Quentin Carter was involved in a light plane crash east of Gympie on August 29, following a landing gone wrong.

Mr Carter said the plane “bounced” off the landing strip before trying to unsuccessfully clear nearby trees.

“We landed a little bit too far into the strip and bounced off the landing, the only option really was to apply full power and go around but we didn’t quite clear the trees,” Mr Carter said.

For Mr Carter the incident was not the first time he had been involved in a potentially life-threatening plane crash, managing to land the exact same plane in 2022 with just one wheel.

Quentin Carter following a horror light plane crash earlier in this year.

“You don’t really hear of people walking away or surviving these types of things, to say I feel incredibly fortunate is probably a gross understatement,” Mr Carter said.

“Miraculous is probably the best description, I’m not a religious kind of guy but something was looking out for me on that day.”

The plane crashed east of Gympie, near the Noosa hinterland, on August 29.

While he suffered significant leg injuries, Mr Carter said by far the most confronting impacts were the mental symptoms from medication and a potential head injury that left him feeling trapped in his own body.

“I felt like I was trapped in my own body and I couldn’t verbalise it at the time, it has left me with short-term memory issues,” Mr Carter said.

As for his return to instructing, Mr Carter said time would tell whether he returns to flying in the future as he continues rehabilitation.

“I say with a little bit of bravado that I see myself going back to flying, back to instructing but it is not something I will really know until I step up to the plane,” Mr Carter said.

“With these head injury symptoms I’m experiencing at the moment I couldn’t in good conscious take somebody flying with me.”

A GoFundMe set up to help Mr Carter with medical expenses has raised $13,605.

Originally published as Flying instructor Quentin Carter reveals lucky escape from Gympie crash