As their small plane, out of fuel and destined for a fatal crash, plunged towards earth the pilot told his passenger: "Pray - just pray!'"

So they desperately turned to God for deliverance - and landed safely beside a huge sign reading: Jesus is Lord.

Last night passenger Grant Stubbs and pilot Owen Wilson were crediting divine intervention for what they said was a miraculous escape from what at what stage seemed like certain death.

"When you're in a microlight, if you crash, you usually die," said Mr Stubbs, who had taken off with Mr Wilson in the tiny two-seater plane from New Zealand's Marlborough Sounds district.

Thank God: Owen Wilson, left, and Grant Stubbs claim they were saved from certain death by a prayer

"The aircraft was coughing and spluttering as we headed towards a hill and Mr Wilson told me that for some inexplicable reason we had run out of fuel.

"So I said to him: 'What should we do?' And he said: 'You just pray, Grant.'"

As the now-powerless aircraft descended, Mr Wilson searched desperately for a safe landing area to glide to - and saw a strip of land. He was able to touch down without either man receiving a scratch.

Then, as they clambered from the plane, thankful that their prayers had been answered, they saw the 20ft-high sign telling them that Jesus is Lord.

"When we saw it, we both burst out laughing," said Mr Stubbs, who, admitted that, like Mr Wilson, they weren't particularly religious. Or at least they had not been up to that moment.

They had, in fact, landed on property owned by a Christian couple, who run a religious lodge, which explained the presence of the sign.

The two men, from the South Island town of Blenheim, had taken off on a birthday-treat trip for Mr Stubbs.

They flew over the spectacular Golden Bay and around the nearby rolling hills, but as they began climbing to clear a particularly steep hill, the microlight's engine began to cut out.

It was then that Mr Wilson realised they had run out of fuel, which surprised him because he had carefully calculated how much would be needed for the flight.

"We managed to splutter and cough up over a steep slope before the motor cut out completely at somewhere around 1500 feet," said Mr Stubbs.

"When Owen told me to pray, I really did pray to God to get us over the ridge and find us somewhere to land.

"We didn't want it to be the water or a hill. We just wanted a flat piece of land and by a miracle we spotted it and were able to glide down safely. Owen did a great job in getting us down"

After touching down it was almost like landing in heaven, Mr Stubbs said. Animals that live on the property came wandering over to greet them...wild horses, donkeys, deer, goats and emus.

"It was a powerful testimony," said Mr Stubbs. "We believe God didn't want us to check out yet."

The microlight does not have a petrol gauge but the pilot is able to see how much is in the tank, located behind the seats.

Just why they ran out of fuel is now being investigated by New Zealand's Civil Aviation Authority.