A HOMEOWNER pulled a pilot from the burning cockpit of a light plane which clipped the roof of his Brisbane house and exploded into flames in his backyard.
Brett McDonald was tonight hailed a hero for saving the life of the pilot, who he dragged free from burning wreckage behind his house at Darra, in Brisbane's south-west.
The pilot is now in a medically-induced coma.
But tonight the 29-year-old pilot, who miraculously survived the crash, was also praised for preventing the Cessna 182 causing even more damage.
Mr McDonald, 41, his wife, 36, and his 12-year-old daughter were inside when the four-seater aircraft slammed into their roof and landed upside down in the back yard of their home about 11.20am (AEST) today.
The crash, which brought down half the roof and ceiling, also downed powerlines around the Monier Road address and forced the evacuation of four nearby homes.
Mr McDonald, the state manager of a wine company, rushed to the pilot's aid, pulling him free from the burning wreckage.
Emergency crews said the pilot "miraculously" walked away from the crash with burns to his arms and legs, respiratory burns and cuts and bruises to his chest.
The unnamed pilot, from Goondiwindi on the Queensland/New South Wales border, was tonight in an induced coma in Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital.
Mr McDonald's 12-year-old daughter suffered a minor head wound when hit by a piece of falling ceiling, but Mr McDonald and his wife escaped unhurt.
Shocked neighbours and workers said the plane appeared to be "spluttering" shortly before it crashed, causing a large explosion and sending plumes of black smoke into the sky.
Mr McDonald said he knew something was wrong when he noticed a "big shadow" over his window.
"Then (I heard) a huge bang," he said.
"I went out the back just to see if something fell on the roof and saw a plane in the back yard on fire, so I went around to the side to see if there was anyone in there, saw him and went around the other side and he was sort of trying to get his way out.
"So I grabbed him and pulled him out of the plane and fire was sort of catching on his legs.
"As soon as I got him out it went up into more flames and then we got out of the area of the fire because I didn't know if it was going to blow up or what it was going to do."
Mr McDonald said the pilot then walked himself through his garage, sat in his driveway and waited for an ambulance.
He said his wife and daughter, who he did not want to name, were in the bathroom and kitchen at the time of the crash, while he was downstairs.
They had only lived in the house for nine months and had just finished renovating.
"Everyone's lucky we got out safe and sound," Mr McDonald said.
Oxley police Superintendent Keith McDonald (McDonald) described the homeowner's actions as "extremely heroic".
"The plane was on fire at the time ... and his actions certainly saved the life of the pilot," Supt McDonald said.
Queensland Ambulance Service officer Ian Rizzoli said of the pilot: "I'd say (it was) a miracle (he survived)."
Supt McDonald said the pilot experienced engine problems at about 1000 feet, shortly after taking off from nearby Archerfield Airport en route to Goondiwindi.
Fire officer Rob McDonald (McDonald) praised the pilot's "great flying".
"He actually manoeuvred it to miss serious damage," he said on ABC radio.
"Missed the trees, missed most of the powerlines and actually steered it away from the house, his wing clipping the house and coming down in the back yard."
Landscaper Grant Davis, 36, said the plane had been flying very low before it let out a "loud bang" and smoke poured from its engine.
"He just kept getting lower and lower," Mr Davis said.
"His wing has dropped and he's hit the powerlines, skimmed over the roof, and ... it was like a rock, he just dropped."
