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Plane wreckage removed from line | |
(about 11 hours later) | |
Most of the wreckage of a light aircraft which crashed onto a railway line killing three people has been been removed by air accident investigators. | |
The pilot Alan Matthews, 59, along with Nick O'Brien, 35, and his wife, Emma, 29, all from the West Midlands, died in the crash near Stafford, on Friday. | |
Network Rail said engineers were repairing power cables above the West Coast Mainline which were damaged. | |
The section of track should be open in time for Monday's rush hour, it added. | |
Train operators were running a reduced service on the West Coast Mainline on Sunday, with rail replacement buses adding to journey times.Investigators spent most of Saturday gathering evidence from the crash site | |
Tributes have been paid to the victims of the crash. | |
Mr and Mrs O'Brien, from Shirley, Solihull, who married last August, were passengers in the plane which crashed when it hit power lines above the track at Little Haywood. | |
The couple had two children, Callum, aged 10, and 18-month-old Joel, a British Transport Police spokeswoman said. | |
It is understood that Mr O'Brien knew the pilot Mr Matthews, from Walsall, through his work. | |
Mr Matthews' wife Jenny paid tribute to her "loving, caring" husband in a statement. She said he would help anybody and loved flying. | |
Mr Matthews is registered as company director of Sittles Farm Flying Club, near Lichfield, Staffordshire. | Mr Matthews is registered as company director of Sittles Farm Flying Club, near Lichfield, Staffordshire. |
Club member Richard Morris said: "He (Alan) was a very nice chap and he was one of our long-standing members at the club. RAIL ENQUIRIES For more information on train times call 08457 48 49 50 class="" href="http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/">National Rail Enquiries The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites | |
"We are all deeply shocked to hear of this accident - he was a very good, experienced flyer and we are just totally shocked really." | "We are all deeply shocked to hear of this accident - he was a very good, experienced flyer and we are just totally shocked really." |
Inspectors from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch have been examining the scene since the crash shortly before 1200 GMT on Friday. | |
The incident has had an impact on rail travel through the area affecting trains from London to the North West and Scotland. | |
Glen MacDonald of Virgin Trains, said: "The advice to people is that they should allow extra time for their journey. | |
"Journeys will take longer than normal, 45 to 60 minutes longer than normal, and they should check the times of trains before they travel." | |
Replacement buses put on by London Midland are also running to local stations in the area. | |