“WE are both lucky to be alive.”

Those are the words of a Hampshire couple after a light aircraft clattered into their home before crash landing in their garden.

Shocked Pam and Roy Gosling said that the scene of devastation in their garden was “like a movie”.

When 74-year-old Pam approached the crumpled wreckage of the Piper plane, she could tell that the occupants were alive and rushed for help.

The aircraft had clipped the top of their house in Woodlands Road, near Netley Marsh, before flattening a greenhouse in the back garden.

Last night, the occupants of the light aircraft were still recovering from their injuries at Southampton General Hospital.

The 74-year-old pilot, from north Hampshire, was in a critical but stable condition while the 73-year-old passenger, from Dunfermline in Scotland, was stable.

Pam said: “We heard an almighty bang and at first thought something had blown over – but there was no wind. To say we were surprised would be to put it mildly when we found out what was in the garden.

“When I went to the plane I heard someone grunt. I was just hoping they were alive – but I felt absolutely helpless.

“When neighbours called the police they thought it was a hoax – but the emergency services were here very quickly. In these situations you feel lucky to be alive.”

The roof of one of the couple’s upstairs rooms collapsed, while the greenhouse was destroyed and a tree had to be removed.

Pam praised the skilful actions of the pilot, who witnesses saw “wrestling” with his stricken plane shortly before the crash.

“At some point I would quite like to meet them, because they did a sterling job in missing the house by all accounts,” she said. “Everybody has been lucky. Your mind and imagination goes into overdrive as to what could have happened. The whole thing was a surreal experience.”

This morning, the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) was continuing its probe into the drama. Yesterday, the main body of the aircraft was removed from the crash scene before being transported to the AAIB facility in Farnborough.

The incident came just days after a father and son were killed when their light aircraft collided in mid-air with another plane as they took part in the Merlin Trophy race over the Isle of Wight.