A PILOT had a miraculous escape after his plane crashed into a massive fuel tanker on a Hampshire airfield.
The Russian light aircraft careered into the industrial petrol tanker after developing a fault while landing at the former HMS Daedalus site in Lee-on-the-Solent.
But fortunately the propeller-powered 'Yak' plane struck a protective wall moments before the collision, which diverted it into the lorry's cab.
The man, in his 50s, was able to clamber to safety while fire crews at the former MoD airfield rushed to the scene of the crash, which took place around 12.30pm yesterday.
A spokesman from Hampshire Fire and Rescue said a collision with the tanker's half-full container would have caused a massive explosion.
Ambulance crews attended the scene and although the pilot was said to be shaken he did not require hospital treatment.
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