What happened inside cockpit before plane crash landed on golf course

It's a moment which has made global headlines, and what happened inside the cockpit of a light plane just before it crash landed on a golf course on Sydney's Northern Beaches has been revealed.

The trainee pilot and his instructor are now safely home after walking away from the wreck with a few cuts and bruises.

Trainee Brian Welch was control of the Piper Cherokee yesterday, with his instructor Ross Curracan by his side.

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They were looping around Sydney on their way from Camden back to their flying school in Shellharbour.

But halfway, their engine failed off the Northern Beaches.

They lost altitude fast and crash landed at Mona Vale Golf Club.

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Incredibly the pair walked away from the wreck with just minor cuts and scrapes.

This morning's tee times went ahead as usual - but with one unusual hazard on the course.

Workers faced a bigger maintenance job than they're used to.

The plane's owner Simon Thomas was at the Swans game yesterday when he got the call.

"First made sure they were OK, that was the main concern and yeah went from there," he said. "It's been wild."

He only bought the plane last October last year for his 19-year-old son to learn to fly in.

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Airspeed Flight School Shellharbour praised "the instructors' skill and ability to keep a cool head in a critical situation".

The plane is damaged beyond repair, and what's left of it is going to be hauled away for the scrap heap.

Heavy machinery was brought in to lug the twisted 900-kilograms of metal off the course so the damaged grass can start to be patched up.

Thomas said he'll "have to talk to his wife" about if he's going to replace it.