A passenger has relived the moment their plane smashed into the South Downs - which resulted in them and the pilot being airlifted to hospital.

The horrific moment was described as plane crash experts revealed their findings into a light aircraft crash which happened when it ran out of fuel and the engine shut down.

Following the incident, the UK's aviation body has announced renewed plans to inform pilots about fuel safety, which is the pilot's responsibility.

The Argus: Plane crash investigators at the scenePlane crash investigators at the scene (Image: Sussex Newsa and Pictures)

The Piper PA-32 plane was travelling from Solent Airport, near Portsmouth, to Lydd Airport near Dungeness, following the coast for much of the route on February 11, 2022.

But over the South Downs near Steyning, the pilot declared he had "a problem" and declared a Mayday call to nearby Shoreham air traffic control shortly before 1pm.

The 44-year-old light aircraft quickly descended and the propeller engine started "revving and spluttering" ahead of the dramatic incident.

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The passenger of the plane told the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) how the pilot frantically tried to restart the engine, and was operating levers inside the plane to no avail.

The AAIB said that "relevant emergency checklists were not carried out".

Instead, the pilot started gliding the plane towards Steyning Valley - preparing for a crash landing.

The passenger said: "Ahead to the right were trees and ahead to the left was hilly grass. There was a few bad options, it was trying to decide which was least bad, the trees, or where we ended up on the hill".

The Argus: The scene of the crashThe scene of the crash (Image: Sussex News and Pictures)

They described how the ground was steeper than it looked, and when it struck the ground they were both seriously injured - knocking the 63-year-old pilot unconscious.

The passenger suffered seriously injuries to his chest, spine and skull.

The pilot experienced serious and some life-changing injuries to his head, neck, spine, chest and hips.

Fuel was leaking from a wing tip and much of the aircraft - including the fuselage - was damaged "beyond economic repair".

Investigators described how the aircraft "force landed on an eastern face of Steyning Valley".

The initial impact marks show how the left wing tip hit the ground first, before the landing gear - which broke off from the plane before the aircraft rolled to the right.

A member of the investigating team said: "The aircraft’s lower left front fuselage struck the ground with sufficient impetus to drive the engine upwards, bend the nose landing gear aft and cause the tail structure to fail and partially separate just aft of the rear cockpit.

"Damage to the aircraft was consistent with a high sink rate on impact."

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The pilot is not able to remember the day of the crash, but a family member reported that after the accident he said "running rough... battery dead... engine stopped".

Other pilots of the same aircraft described how the captain involved in the accident found the fuel alarm audio alert "intrusive".

The Piper's airworthiness review certificate was due to expire less than a month after the crash.

The report stated: "The fuel tank being used – which was one of four, separate, manually selected tanks – ran out of useable fuel, causing the engine to stop over a hilly area. Relevant emergency checklists were not carried out. The aircraft struck the ground heavily causing serious injuries to both occupants. 

"The report considers fuel management guidance. It discusses threat and error management techniques in relation to managing significant aircraft characteristics, raising situation awareness and regularly self-briefing emergency procedures. 

"In response to this accident, the CAA intends to include fuel management awareness in its current safety promotional activities."

Since the incident, the CAA has said it will include "fuel management awareness" in its safety promotional activities.