RAF crew killed in mid-air crash

Two die on training exercise in Oxfordshire
Glider pilot parachuted to safety

Two people on an RAF training exercise died today when their plane was in collison with a glider over Oxfordshire. The glider pilot parachuted to safety with relatively minor injuries.

The Ministry of Defence confirmed that two people in a Tutor single-engine training aircraft had died. They were an air cadet and an RAF reservist. The two aircraft came down in a field a short distance apart in Drayton, near Abingdon, following the collision.

The Thames Valley air ambulance, which was taking part in a 10th anniversary display, was diverted to the crash and arrived minutes later but was unable to do anything to help the victims. At least two bodies were found in the wreckage of one of the planes.

Group Captain Jonathan Burr, station commander of RAF Benson, said: "I can confirm that this afternoon a Grob Tutor aircraft from RAF Benson was involved in a mid-air collision with a civilian glider.

"As a result of the collision the Tutor aircraft crashed and the two personnel on board were tragically killed.

"The pilot of the aircraft was an RAF officer and the passenger was a member of the Combined Cadet Force.

"The next of kin have been informed and an inquiry will be established to determine the cause of the accident.

"This is a difficult time for all of us who are affected by this tragedy and our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the two people who lost their lives this afternoon."

James O'Neill, who lives near where the planes came down, said he heard a crash before seeing the wreckage of a light aircraft and a glider in a field behind his home in Drayton. He said: "I was in the house. I rushed outside and saw that about 100 yards from my home there was metal wreckage in a field.

"There were two separate heaps of wreckage, so I think they must have collided in mid-air," he said.

"Someone parachuted down, which I believe was the pilot of the glider. The police and the ambulance helicopters were here within minutes and then five fire engines arrived."

A spokesman for the South Central ambulance service said an ambulance officer, a land ambulance and the air ambulance had been scrambled to the scene.

"Amazingly one of the victims was completely unscathed and only needed to be examined at the scene. Obviously he was quite shocked," he said.

Police wanted to speak to any anyone who had seen either the collision or the aircraft before the accident.