A40 plane crash – Ex-Army officer pulled passengers from burning wreckage after light aircraft smashes into dual carriageway in Wales
AN ex-army bomb disposal officer has recounted how he pulled the survivors of a burning wreckage to safety after a plane crashed onto the A40 today.
Hero Joel Snarr sprinted towards the “inferno” – helping another man pull the three passengers from the aircraft after it clipped overhead wiring and smashed onto the dual carriageway this morning.
Speaking to the Sun Online, Joel said the plane crashed in front of his car as he drove home on the A40 near Abergavenny with his wife Sarah this morning.
Recounting the horrifying moment he saw the plane crash, the 35-year-old said: “Approximately 150metres in front of us, it went from just a clear two sided dual carriageway to a plane.
“It hit the central reservation and burst into flames – it wasn’t there and suddenly it was there.”
The ex-army sergeant, who completed three tours of Afghanistan, two tours of Northern Ireland and one of Iraq, said he didn’t think twice – pulling up about 80m from the crash and running towards the flames.
He said: “There was someone from the other side of the dual carriageway, trying to kick the window through.
“I grabbed the lady by the belt and pulled her out.
“The pilot then put out his hands and I heaved him out.”
Photographs of the scene show how the plane was completely consumed by flames after it fell from the sky about 11am today.
He said the three survivors – a young man and woman and the pilot, thought to be in his 40s – were in “total shock”.
Joel said: “We got them away from the plane, which was getting hotter and hotter.”
The pilot then put out his hands and I heaved him out
Joel Snarr
Joel, who served with the Army for 15 years, said his only thought as he ran towards the “inferno” was fearing if “anyone was going to be alive”.
The ex-bomb sergeant, who was medically discharged from the army earlier this year after suffering from PTSD, said the survivors barelysaid anything as they rushed them from the scene.
He said: “The young lady had taken a blow to the head.
“By the time we were walking away it was completely on fire.
“It was an inferno.”
Ambulance crews arrived at the scene shortly after, treating the two men and women who had miraculously survived.
BURNING WRECKAGE
One witness Keith Iles told The Sun Online: “Someone nearby said a plane came down just after take off from an airstrip with 3 on board, all survived apparently.
“Lots of debris across road, big dent in central reservation, and quite a fire for a while.
“Road is completely closed, police have turned traffic round to exit the road.”
Martin Barnfield passed by the site of the crash just moments after, telling BBC: “We saw a big plume of smoke. A few hundred yards on we saw the crash.
“It looked like it was taking off but wasn’t able to. It flipped over onto the westbound carriageway. The heat and explosion was immense.”
The local airfield declined to comment but said no one had been badly hurt.
“Three occupants of the light aircraft were treated by paramedics at the scene. Their injuries are not life-threatening.”
A Gwent Police spokesperson confirmed they had been called to the scene about 11am, saying: “The aircraft was reported to have made an unscheduled landing in the area, colliding with overhead wiring.
“Fellow emergency services and Western Power also attended the scene to help deal with the incident.
A Welsh Ambulance Service spokesperson said two people had been taken to hospital with “minor injuries”.
The pair were taken to Nevill Hall Hospital in Abergavenny.
One woman wrote on social media: “Everyone survived, but serious burns. Missed every car on the road.”
Other witnesses have suggested the plane may have come from a nearby private landing strip.
Another added: “Avoid the road to Raglan: plane crashed on dual carriageway”.
‘ODD ANGLE’
Others said they had feared something had gone wrong after seeing the plane was at “an odd angle”.
One witness said: “We were watching a glider flying over, must have been just before this happened.
“The front of the plane looked black and at an odd angle. We wondered if there was something wrong.”
Traffic is understood to have ground to a halt as emergency services rushed to the scene.
Gwent Police said the road was closed in both directions.
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Motorists have been warned to avoid the area.
Traffic analyst Inrix said there was “stationary traffic due to incident involving an aircraft and smoke blowing across the road”
Fire crews have also been called to the scene.