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SYDNEY: The sole survivor of a Papua New Guinea plane crash made a dramatic escape by smashing a cockpit window before the aircraft burst into flames, killing the four other occupants, it was reported Friday.
New Zealand's Kelby Cheyne was the co-pilot of the twin-engine Cessna Citation which overshot the runway on Tuesday at Misima Island, on Papua New Guinea's southeast tip, in wet and windy conditions.
Locals helped the 25-year-old as he scrambled from the window of the wrecked plane, his sister Selena told The Australian newspaper.
"All we know is that he managed to get himself out of the cockpit," she said. "He broke the window and people helped him out."
She said she felt "utter disbelief and hopeful relief" when she heard he had survived with only severe bruising.
"It's been crazy," she said. "There's been a lot of mixed reports but he's only got severe bruising ... then there are the psychological scars."
Cheyne said her brother, who is based in Australia, had been nervous about working as a pilot in Papua New Guinea, whose rugged landscape and unpredictable weather make flying conditions tough.
"He was concerned about safety, but he never showed any fear," she said.
Media said the pilot received medical treatment in Papua New Guinea before being flown to Townsville in Queensland, where he was released from hospital on Thursday.
Three Australians and a New Zealander were killed when the Trans Air charter flight crashed.
The Australians have been named as Trans-Air part-owner Les Wright, Sydney-based pilot Chris Hart and Darren Moore, who was believed to be working for the Papua New Guinea Civil Aviation Authority.
The dead New Zealander has not been identified.
Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigators have travelled to the crash site to help with the inquiries into the accident after a request from Papua New Guinea authorities.
-AFP/wk
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