A farmer rushed to help the pair when the plane ploughed into farmland on the banks of the Clutha River after the flight instructor attempted an emergency landing about 2.15pm on Saturday.
The pair remained in Dunedin Hospital yesterday.
Taieri Clutha area response manager Senior Sergeant Alastair Dickie said the crash nearly resulted in tragedy with the plane coming to rest near a floodbank.''
He [the flight instructor] did a pretty good job,'' Snr Sgt Dickie said.''
They could have hit the floodbank and that would have been curtains for them.''
The flight instructor (48) and the trainee pilot (46) were taken to Dunedin Hospital by helicopter with the younger man suffering suspected spinal injuries and the instructor a broken arm. Neither man's injuries were life threatening.
The Civil Aviation Authority is investigating the crash and the plane is stored at the Balclutha Aerodrome.
The trainee pilot, who owns the plane, was at the controls when the engine began ''coughing''.
The instructor took the controls and attempted an emergency landing on what he believed was a ''suitable area'' on Inch Clutha, across the Clutha River from the airport, Snr Sgt Dickie said.''
Fortunately, they dug into the ground and the plane spun around before they reached the flood bank,'' Snr Sgt Dickie said.
Both men were out of the plane when emergency services arrived and were being assisted by a local farmer.
The instructor was ''walking around with a broken arm'' and cuts to his face, and the trainee was lying on the ground conscious.
Emergency services initially went to the airport, but quickly ascertained the plane had crashed on the other side of the Clutha River, which runs along the end of the runway.
The pair flew into Balclutha from the Taieri and were attempting a flight to Mandeville, near Gore.
Balclutha police, the Balclutha Volunteer Fire Brigade, and St John paramedics attended the crash.
A Dunedin Hospital spokesman said the pair were progressing favourably in a general ward yesterday.
