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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Body recovered in aircraft crash | Body recovered in aircraft crash |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A body has been recovered from the wreckage of an aircraft crash in which five people were killed in Warwickshire. | A body has been recovered from the wreckage of an aircraft crash in which five people were killed in Warwickshire. |
| A Cessna 402 aircraft carrying two men and two women and a solo-piloted small aircraft collided above Coombe Abbey, about two miles from Coventry Airport. | |
| One body, believed to be that of the small aircraft pilot, was found by rescue crews overnight by Coombe Abbey. | |
| Teams are searching nearby Brandon Wood for the other four. | Teams are searching nearby Brandon Wood for the other four. |
| An investigation involving police, the fire service, the RAF and the Air Accident Investigation Branch has begun. | |
| Police said they were not treating the crash as suspicious. | |
| All four people on board the Cessna were employees of specialist survey company Reconnaissance Ventures Ltd (RVL). | |
| 'Big bang' | 'Big bang' |
| The company used the aircraft to carry out survey work for government agencies and private firms.Eyewitness Malcolm Collins said he saw the microlight disintegrate | |
| Eyewitnesses who saw the crash, which happened at about 1130 BST on Sunday, described how the pilot of the Cessna tried to steer the aircraft to safety. | Eyewitnesses who saw the crash, which happened at about 1130 BST on Sunday, described how the pilot of the Cessna tried to steer the aircraft to safety. |
| Malcolm Collins, of Daventry, Northamptonshire, who had been at Coombe Abbey with his wife and children, said: "When it first happened it looked like the plane would go straight down, but the pilot recovered it and seemed to be in control of it. | Malcolm Collins, of Daventry, Northamptonshire, who had been at Coombe Abbey with his wife and children, said: "When it first happened it looked like the plane would go straight down, but the pilot recovered it and seemed to be in control of it. |
| "Then it tipped and came down suddenly." | "Then it tipped and came down suddenly." |
| He said it looked like the smaller aircraft had "completed disintegrated in a big bang". | |
| Debris spread | Debris spread |
| Emergency services had difficulty finding the crash scene in dense woodland and needed guidance from the air. | Emergency services had difficulty finding the crash scene in dense woodland and needed guidance from the air. |
| Commander Mick Leach, of Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service, said the debris had been spread over a wide area. | Commander Mick Leach, of Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service, said the debris had been spread over a wide area. |
| Police urged any witnesses to contact them.The Cessna 402 was being used by a specialist survey company | |
| Det Supt Adrian McGee said: "We would like to thank everyone who has come forward with witness accounts so far. | |
| "We are very grateful for their assistance and will be contacting them later today." | |
| Colin Dennis, the managing director of RVL, said the Cessna was on a "perfectly normal" approach to Coventry Airport at the time of the collision. | Colin Dennis, the managing director of RVL, said the Cessna was on a "perfectly normal" approach to Coventry Airport at the time of the collision. |
| He said he had been in touch with the families of the victims, who he said were coping "as you would expect". | |
| He said it was still unclear which employee was flying the Cessna, a plane which was about 15 years old and had recently been refitted. | |
| Mr Dennis added that the aircraft was "better than new" after its makeover and had been fitted with new equipment. | |
| He added he did not want to name the victims or give their ages until their bodies had been recovered and formally identified. |