The risk of an accident is an extremely stressful situation to begin with for everyone, regardless of their level of skills.  However when such cases involve flying through air with looming water below your aircraft, then the level of stress breaks the scale in an instant.

In June 2010, Australian Matt Hall skimmed the water of the Detroit River and came close to a disaster during the first Qualifying session at the Red Bull Air Race in Windsor, Canada. However, the former Royal Australian Air Force pilot managed to quickly recover his MXS-R plane and returned safely to the airport competition.

“The plane is damaged but repairable” – said Hall, “I plan to rest for a while now. What happened is certainly going to get on my nerves a few hours later. Anyone who flies, sooner or later experiences such extreme situations. I’m disappointed in myself for the way things turned out. But I survived, I will move on! All is well. “

Watch the video below to see the amazing skills that saved this pilot’s life.