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A light aircraft has crashed into a block of flats in Oxfordshire, UK, around 60 miles northwest from central London. The crash happened around 12:00 BST on April 2 and multiple reports say that the male pilot was taken to a local hospital, although the extent of his injuries has not been confirmed.
Eyewitness saw the crash happen
The BBC says an eyewitness, Tisa Kilby, was out walking her dog when she saw the aircraft hit the building. She said,
“I looked up and literally saw this guy leap out of this plane and thought, that’s an odd place to parachuting. Within four or five seconds the plane nose-dived and crashed into the block of flats.”
Ms Kilby also said she had been told by police at the scene that the pilot had suffered life-changing injuries. The South Central Ambulance Service said the victim, an “older gentleman’ was treated at the scene before being taken to hospital.
Nearby resident, Lloyd Waygood, told the Oxford Mail he heard a weird sound followed by a loud thud, and within 15 minutes police and emergency service arrived and told him to evacuate.
“We often see stunt planes flying over here at the weekend doing loop the loops, but you never expect this to happen at all.”
Fortunately the flats were unoccupied and no other injuries from the crash were reported.
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AAIB says crash investigation is underway
Within hours, the UK Air accidents Investigation Branch, the body tasked with investigating this incident, said:
An accident in Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, involving a light aircraft has been notified to the AAIB. An investigation has been launched into the accident and a team of inspectors are at the accident site gathering evidence.
Thames Valley Police were among the first on the scene and issued a Twitter appeal,
Was the pilot trying to land at the old RAF Station?
The crash happened in a built area, with the impact point less than 500 meters from the threshold of a disused runway on the former Royal Air Force Upper Heyford station.
Today the base is used for a mix of industrial and commercial purposes, including the storage of hundreds of cars at a vehicle remarketing facility.
The witness comments about aircraft doing aerobatic maneuvers in the area on weekends and the site of the crash suggest the pilot may have been trying to make an emergency landing, although nothing official has been said about the cause of the crash.
The fact that he managed to parachute out before the crash also suggests the aircraft was in trouble and the pilot was not able to get it back under control.
More news is likely to emerge as the AAIB investigation gets underway.
Sources: BBC, Oxford Mail
Featured image is for illustrative purposes only.
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