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RAF crew dead in 'mid-air crash' | RAF crew dead in 'mid-air crash' |
(about 2 hours later) | |
Two RAF personnel died when their light trainer plane and a glider collided in mid-air and crashed to the ground. | |
Eye witness James O'Neill told the BBC he heard a loud crash before seeing the wreckage of both aircraft in a field at Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire. | |
He he also saw the glider pilot, who survived, parachute to the ground. | |
The RAF personnel had been in a Tutor single-engine training craft when it was in collision with a civilian glider, the Ministry of Defence said. | |
Police said the two people had died in the crash just after 1400 BST. | Police said the two people had died in the crash just after 1400 BST. |
'Parachuted down' | 'Parachuted down' |
Mr O'Neill said: "I heard a loud crash. | |
"The wreckage of a light aircraft and glider are lying in a field about 100 yards from my home so I assumed they hit mid-air. | "The wreckage of a light aircraft and glider are lying in a field about 100 yards from my home so I assumed they hit mid-air. |
The police helicopter arrived within minutes (picture from James O'Neill) | The police helicopter arrived within minutes (picture from James O'Neill) |
"Someone parachuted down which I believe was the pilot from the glider. | "Someone parachuted down which I believe was the pilot from the glider. |
"The Thames Valley Police helicopter was on the scene within three minutes, and the fire brigade a minute later." | "The Thames Valley Police helicopter was on the scene within three minutes, and the fire brigade a minute later." |
Stuart Wilson who was in a field outside his house nearby said he saw a plane coming down vertically, nose down. | |
"There was a big impact noise when it hit the ground," he said. | |
Five fire engines attended along with ambulance and police teams, the spokeswoman for the fire service added. | |
Police said the next of kin of the RAF personnel were being informed. | |
In a separate incident on Saturday, a pilot died when the glider he was in crashed in a field in Ratley, Warwickshire, close to Banbury. | In a separate incident on Saturday, a pilot died when the glider he was in crashed in a field in Ratley, Warwickshire, close to Banbury. |