Mr Frawley was en route from Launceston to a corporate golf day at Barnbougle Dunes, on the north-east coast, when the pleasant flight turned horribly wrong.

He said the six-seater plane slid out of control on its belly when the landing gear failed to activate Bridport airfield.

The former Richmond coach and St Kilda captain said the five passengers and pilot had been lucky to escape unharmed.

"We were landing on the runway when we heard a big bang. We heard another thud and we were jolted forward," Mr Frawley said.

"The plane veered sideways and a fair bit of panic set in.

"You could hear the scraping under your feet and it was just out of control."

Mr Frawley, Bungaree's favourite son, said he went into survival mode when the 20-second horror ride came to an end.

"When the plane stopped to a halt a bit of smoke came out of the controls and we decided to flee," he said.

"Survival was the plan of attack and we bolted from the plane.

"We were lucky that it happened on a country runway. If it was on tarmac, there could have been sparks and it could have been a whole lot worse."

Mr Frawley said the crash put him off his golf game.

"After only about eight holes we had a couple of refreshments to realise what had actually happened," he said.

It also put him off taking a return flight to Launceston.

"We ended up getting a car back," he said.

"I don't think I will be flying in a small plane again for awhile."