Witnesses to the emergency landing of a replica World War 1 fighter heard the plane coughing before a loud ''boom'' gave way to silence as it descended on to a ridge high above Ocean View on Saturday.
Police lauded the quick-thinking pilot for his ''perfect'' emergency landing of the three-quarter Albatros D.Va replica on farmland above Brighton Rd about 10.50am.
The pilot, Tom Grant (87), was fine despite the plane hitting a fence on a ridge about 100m above Brighton Rd during the emergency landing, his wife, Jeanette, said.
''It was a controlled landing. He just caught the top of the wire as he came in,'' she said.
''He got a tiny bump on his nose ... but he's fine.''
It appeared the landing buckled the plane's wheels and damaged the right wing and undercarriage.
The plane, which Mr Grant built, was salvageable and would be ''next winter's project'', Mrs Grant said.
''He got out of this alive and undamaged and that's a good landing,'' she said.
''He is an exceptional flier. He just did the right things.''
Senior Sergeant Brian Benn said Mr Grant's emergency landing was ''just perfect''.
He was ''a bit shaken'', but otherwise fine.
''He's done pretty well to put it down there in pretty hilly country,'' he said.
Brighton Volunteer Fire Brigade Chief Fire Officer Ian Armstrong said the plane ''coughed and spluttered'' before the crash - ''it didn't look like a particularly heavy impact, but it certainly wasn't a graceful landing''.
The pilot then walked down the hill to a house on Brighton Rd..
''When we arrived, he was already out of the plane,'' Mr Armstrong said.
Ocean View resident Peter Merrielees called emergency services after seeing the plane come down.
''I heard a putt, putt, putt, boom,'' he said.
''It came down, hit the wheels, nosed up and came back down again.''
Civil Aviation Authority spokesman Mike Richards said the authority would likely open a ''desk-based investigation'' into the incident.
''We are comfortable it will be fairly straight forward.''
