'Hero' pilot's body repatriated

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/west_midlands/8428721.stm

Version 0 of 1.

The body of a pilot who died making an emergency sea landing that saved the lives of his nine passengers has been brought back to the UK.

Captain Robert Mansell, 32, originally from Knowle, near Solihull in the West Midlands, landed the plane in the south Caribbean sea in October.

He was the only person to die in the incident.

Mr Mansell's body was recovered from the sea by a Dutch ship on Friday and he was repatriated on Tuesday.

A funeral was held on the Caribbean island of Curacao, before the body was flown to Birmingham Airport.

His father Roger Mansell, 73, met the coffin on its arrival at the West Midlands airport on Tuesday night.

The former radar expert with the Civil Aviation Authority said: "I'm very happy he's been brought home and am extremely grateful to the Dutch government for very kindly stepping in to pay the bill."

He said the Dutch authorities would now carry out an accident investigation assisted by the British authorities.

A post-mortem examination is due to be carried out later and a second funeral is planned for 8 January, the widower added.

Mr Mansell was flying a twin-engine plane from Curacao to Bonaire when it got into difficulty.

His employer Divi Divi Air said he was "a hero" for landing the plane so that everyone could evacuate the aircraft safely.

It is thought he was knocked unconscious when the nose pitched forward during the emergency landing.

A passenger tried to pull Mr Mansell out of his seat but ran out of time before the aircraft sunk.

Pilot training

His father said initial attempts to recover his body failed because of the strong sea currents and choppiness of the water.

Mr Mansell read aeronautical engineering at Bristol University then travelled to Australia to undertake flight training.

After obtaining his pilot's licence, Mr Mansell flew for two firms in the Solomon Islands, east of Papua New Guinea.

He then returned to the UK and later recruited by Divi Divi Air that was founded in Curacao in 2001.