Related Articles
Two people are understood to have been onboard when the light aircraft came down on farmland this morning
Witnesses have described how emergency services rushed to a remote moor after a plane crash. The light aircraft came down on farmland at the foot of Blackstone Edge near Hollingworth Lake in Littleborough this morning (Tuesday).
It’s understood two people were onboard, but it’s not yet been confirmed whether anybody is seriously injured. Pictures from the scene show a large yellow parachute dangling from an electricity pylon with witnesses speaking of seeing it deployed before the crash.
In a statement, a GMP spokesperson said: “Emergency services are responding to reports of a light aircraft crash in the Littleborough area. We are currently in attendance to establish the full circumstances and assess any casualties.
Try MEN Premium NOW for just £1
“A scene is in place whilst emergency service workers conduct their enquiries and people are asked to avoid the area as this work is carried out.”
Aircraft enthusiast Nigel Stanley, from nearby Hollingworth Lake Caravan Park, said the crashed plane appeared to a be a four seater Cirrius SR22. Mr Stanley said it appeared to have released its onboard parachute before getting tangled in an electricity pylon.
He said: “We saw a lot of police earlier and that alerted us that something was wrong. Where the pylons run along the bottom of Blackstone moor there is a parachute caught in one of the pylons.
“The parachute is there for if the engine malfunctions or there’s a medical emergency. The mist is now low on the moor, but you can still see the parachute caught on the pylon.”
The plane took off from Birmingham Airport at around 10am. According to FlightRadar24, the private aircraft then flew north over Burton Upon Trent, the Peak District and Shepley before turning west over the moors and Marsden View.
Its altitude began to drop at around 10.34am before the crash took place a short time later. Residents living and working near the scene described misty and windy conditions around the time of the crash.
Littleborough resident Jennifer Wakelin said: “I passed by a load of ambulances coming up and then got up the road and thought they were coming up here. You could just see ambulances, police cars and fire engines.
“The farmer was walking down and he told me what had happened. You can see the parachute hanging from the pylon over there. It is a very windy day, I’m surprised I haven’t lost some trees.”
Pete Robinson, a farmer from Shaw, said he saw a ‘massive response’ in the area as he was feeding his sheep. He told the BBC: “So I went up into a top field and saw what I thought at the time to be a paraglider on the moor edge, engines and lights everywhere.”
Mr Robinson said he then saw emergency crews running towards the pylon and added: “Hopefully they will be okay because the wind is horrendous up on the moor edge.”
In a statement earlier the Air Accidents Investigations Branch said it had launched an investigation into the circumstances of the crash and had deployed inspectors to the scene.
Source link
