Survivor tells of fiery crash

A security guard walks past the remains of an Air Bagan jet that crashed Burma yesterday. Picture: AFP

A TASMANIAN man who survived a fiery Christmas Day plane crash in Burma which claimed three lives says he was surprised to walk away alive.

Long-time Targa Tasmania executive Stuart Benson, 32, was one of 63 people aboard the Air Bagan Fokker 100 jet which crashed on a road after clipping trees near Heho airport in central Burma.

Two people on board were killed, along with a motorcyclist on the ground. Another 11 people were injured.

"I don't think I've ever really had an experience when I've thought 'this is about it'," he said today from a hotel in the capital Yangon.

"We were stuck inside for a bit while the plane was burning, at which point things were not looking great."

Mr Benson, who was on holiday with girlfriend Anna Bartsch, 31, said there was no hint of the impending disaster before the crash.

"It seemed like a pretty standard sort of approach, it was coming down reasonably quickly," he said.

"There were seven or eight very severe impacts.

"My initial thought was, with the impact so severe, that we were crashing into a mountain range.

"The only way to describe the initial impact was like a car rolling over.

"The back injuries I've sustained are very common to what we'd see in the rollover of a Targa car."

Mr Benson said as soon as the plane stopped moving, his first instinct was to get off quickly.

"The plane was very quickly engulfed by flames," he said.

"I looked around all the windows and I could see there were flames.

"My first thought was to get out as quick as I could.

"I think it was a bit of survival instinct kicking in.

"We looked out the window to see what to do and there were flames down the entire length of the plane. It was quite phenomenal."

Mr Benson said despite some panic among passengers, the evacuation was fast and orderly.

He praised the efforts of airline staff, the Burmese government and Australian consular officials in the wake of the crash.

The couple have lost all their luggage -- including their passports, phones, cash and credit cards.

Mr Benson, who has been living and working in Adelaide in recent months, said they would cut short their trip and head home to Australia but hoped to return to Burma one day.

Kembang Trotoar