Brit backpacker in plane crash in middle of Australia…but parties for a month with broken back
Intrepid traveller dusted himself off and went to the pub after climbing from the mangled wreckage
A BRIT backpacker who broke his spine when he crashed his plane in Australia crawled from the wreckage - and went to the pub.
Ben Myatt, 23, was travelling in a two-seater light aircraft called a Jaribu when the engine cut out and it nosedived to the ground.
Shaken-up Ben and his Aussie pal managed to climb out of the mangled wreckage before hobbling a mile through a field to the nearest road in Kingston-On-Murray, South Australia.
The extreme sports lover, who broke his back in three places in the crash, shrugged off his injuries and spent the next month boozing, camping, water-skiing, and surfing after he was wrongly diagnosed at nearby Berri Hospital.
Ben was visiting friends he met while studying business in New Mexico, America, before the crash on December 30 last year.
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His Aussie pal, who asked not to be named, was piloting the plane at the time and is said to be licensed and fully trained.
He was unable to walk properly two days after the crash but did not suffer any fractures.
Ben, from Bromsgrove, Worcester, arrived back in the UK on Tuesday, January 24, and booked himself into see his GP because of back pains.
He was referred to the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bromsgrove where he was told he had suffered three spinal injuries and a broken rib.
The durable 23-year-old has since been signed off work for 8 weeks while he has weekly physiotherapy.
His GP told him it was a miracle he was still walking.
Reflecting on the crash, Ben said: "My friend's brother was flying us over the Riverland region of Australia when the engine cut off.
"As soon as it shut off I though that was it and I was going to die.
"The plane must have been falling at 80mph.
"The aircraft plunged through a power line, smashed into a paddock and stopped as soon as it hit the ground.
"As soon as there was impact I was in the most intense pain."
He added: "I managed to take my seatbelt off an I dive out the front.
"Doug rolled and and we walked about a mile to the nearest road before heading back and going to hospital.
"There was a lot of blood, I had cuts on my arms, legs, back everywhere."
Medics at Berri Hospital in Australia examined Ben and initially said he had suffered no fractures.
They called him back two days later and told him he had fractured his ankle.
The specialists failed to pick up on Ben's spinal injuries and broken rib.
Ben, who had gone out to Australia to enjoy partying and extreme sports, wasn't prepared to let a plane crash get in the way of that.
The 23-year-old says he went out drinking the night of the accident and also went to a New Year's Eve party in Kingston-on-Murray a couple of days later.
Ben said: "After the crash I was still in some pain but I still went camping for nine days between Adelaide and Melbourne.
"I also went water skiing, knee boarding in the sea, and went surfing.
"I still had pain in my back but I could still function, it was OK".
Ben, who lives with his parents, says he needs some help getting around but can mostly look after himself.
In September last year a couple nearly died after falling 40ft when their balcony collapsed in their five star hotel.
Earlier this month a mum cut her foot after falling through a sofa bed in a grotty Spanish hotel.