Pilot regains control after plane's engine cuts out

A veteran US pilot missed smashing into the ground by mere seconds when the engine failed on his biplane.

Newly-released cockpit footage shows Chad Barber’s brush with death in the skies above Florida last May, reports 7News Miami.

Mr Barber, 26, had just performed aerobatic flying at an altitude of 760 metres when the engine of his ‘Pitts Special’ stopped working. 

Dramatic video showed the plane’s rapid descent, with its propeller still and the sound of rushing air.

Mr Barber battled to restart the aircraft and appeared to be heading towards a stony track away from buildings for a crash landing.

“Survival was the first thing. I focused on surviving,” he told 7News. “I did a little quick prayer in the 45 seconds that it had all happened.”

But just six metres from the ground, the engine kicked into life and the plane can be seen lifting off again.

A heavily relieved Mr Barber can be heard saying: “Oh, my God.”

He explained a problem with the plane’s fuel supply system caused the mid-air stalling.

Mr Barber said he had waited until now to release the footage to illustrate how pilots should remain calm during an emergency.