Dettori left hospital with his wife Catherine

Speaking at a press conference on Monday before being discharged from Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, an emotional Dettori said that in the last seconds of the crash he had been "beyond scared".

The popular flat racer described how he and Cochrane had resigned themselves to death, before finding themselves alive in the wreckage.

Dettori, sitting in a wheelchair and with stitches in a large wound to his forehead, said: "I was surprised to be alive."

He described how there was clearly something wrong with the plane.

"The plane did a peculiar take-off. There were a couple of bumps and the propeller hit the ground.

The plane was severely damaged

"The plane was out of control, going drastically right towards the dyke. The right engine was smoking.

"At this stage I was just very frightened. I thought it was the end."

Dettori, who at times appeared close to tears, explained how Ray Cochrane had shouted at him to get out of the craft.

The main door of the plane was jammed, but the jockeys managed to crawl out through a door in the luggage area.

The Italian-born star, who broke an ankle bone in the crash, said Cochrane had helped him move away from the plane before going back to try to rescue the pilot.

"I just collapsed. Obviously with my broken ankle I couldn't go any further.

Patrick Mackey: Dettori said he owed his life to the pilot

"Ray was determined to get me away because he knew it was going to explode.

"While I was clearing my vision I could see him going back to the plane. Going absolutely insane. Taking his jacket off. Trying to fight the flames.

"No words can describe the feeling of seeing somebody in a plane being burned and being helpless."

New focus

A philosophical Dettori said he had been forced to reconsider his priorities.

"I have no plans to rush myself back to racing. Racing is all I know and all I want to do. It is only a matter of time before I come back to it.

Ray Cochrane: Dettori spoke of his courage

"But right now racing is not the priority. I need to spend time with my wife and son.

"I stared death in the face for three seconds and now I am planning to take five minutes to enjoy the things I have, look at the things I have and enjoy my family life.

"I'll come back to racing when I'm ready."

He said he would go back to Italy for a while and spend time with his parents.

Asked if he planned to watch the Derby, Dettori said he was thinking about attending, but said "right now the Derby means nothing".

He said he would be reconsidering how he travelled between races.

Three-month recovery

Dettori's hospital consultant was by his side throughout the press conference.

Fred Robinson said the jockey had been lucky to escape more serious injury.

He said the operation on Dettori's ankle on Friday, where two screws were put in place, had been relatively simple.

He said the srews would almost certainly be removed after three months.

He said: "Obviously with an elite athlete like Frankie the full return to normal can be some time."

Fred Robinson has been treating the jockey

Dettori thanked the National Health Service and the staff at Addenbrooke's and said they had been "fantastic".

He paid tribute to pilot Patrick Mackey, a "dear friend", saying: "He saved my life and Ray's. He will always be in my mind."

He also acknowleged all the well-wishers worldwide who had sent him "get well" cards.

He said he and Cochrane were very moved by the support they had received.