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RAF crew dead after mid-air crash | RAF crew dead after mid-air crash |
(about 1 hour later) | |
An air cadet and an RAF reservist died when their light trainer plane and a civilian glider collided in mid-air and crashed to the ground. | An air cadet and an RAF reservist died when their light trainer plane and a civilian glider collided in mid-air and crashed to the ground. |
Witnesses said they heard a thud before seeing both aircraft spiralling nose down towards the ground at Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire. | Witnesses said they heard a thud before seeing both aircraft spiralling nose down towards the ground at Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire. |
The glider pilot parachuted to the ground and survived. | The glider pilot parachuted to the ground and survived. |
The RAF personnel were in a Tutor single-engined training plane, the Ministry of Defence said. | |
'Big impact' | 'Big impact' |
James O'Neill, who lives nearby, said: "We heard the noise of an aircraft come very low over the house followed by a thud. | James O'Neill, who lives nearby, said: "We heard the noise of an aircraft come very low over the house followed by a thud. |
Resident James O'Neill: "It wasn't surprising when the thump came" | Resident James O'Neill: "It wasn't surprising when the thump came" |
"My wife who had actually seen it spiral down came running in to say that the plane had crashed and then very quickly she saw a second aircraft, which was a glider also spiralling nose down into the ground." | |
Stuart Wilson who was in a field outside his house nearby said he saw a plane coming down. | Stuart Wilson who was in a field outside his house nearby said he saw a plane coming down. |
"There was a big impact noise when it hit the ground," he said. | "There was a big impact noise when it hit the ground," he said. |
Families devastated | |
Insp Brian Cooper from Thames Valley Police said it was likely many people had seen the crash. | |
He urged witnesses, and anyone who found wreckage, to contact the police. | |
"It is very tragic. We've got two families now that were devastated by the news today. | |
"Our officers and specialist family liaison officers have been with them offering them support," he said. | |
The Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) is at the scene trying to establish the cause of the crash. | |
In February, two Air Training Corps cadets and their RAF instructors were killed in a mid-air crash between two light aircraft in south Wales. | In February, two Air Training Corps cadets and their RAF instructors were killed in a mid-air crash between two light aircraft in south Wales. |
In a separate crash on Saturday, a pilot died when the glider he was in came down in a field in Ratley, Warwickshire, close to Banbury. |