Pilot dies after light aircraft crashes on hill

A man in his 80s has died after a light aircraft crashed on a hill at an airfield, police have said.

Suffolk Police were sent to Nayland Airfield, off Campions Hill, after the incident on Tuesday at about 11:30 BST.

The pilot died at the scene and was the only person on board. No other aircraft or person was involved in the incident, the force said.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) was also called to the scene. It has not been confirmed if the aircraft was landing or taking off.

"Ambulance and fire crews were also in attendance, but the pilot – a man aged in his 80s – was declared deceased at the scene," a spokesperson for the police said.

"Police officers have today (18 June) met with the Air Accidents Investigation Branch at the scene and a joint investigation will continue into the circumstances of the crash.

"A file is also being prepared for the coroner."

A spokesperson for the East of England Ambulance Service said it was called at 11:25 on Tuesday and sent an air ambulance as well as a land ambulance, three ambulance officer vehicles and its Hazardous Area Response Team.

Nayland airfield has one runway for aircraft to both take off and land, with planes landing uphill.

It is believed from public records the light aircraft involved had been built in 1973.

In a statement, the AAIB said it had deployed a team to Suffolk to the site of a light aircraft accident.

"An investigation has commenced and inspectors are in the process of making enquiries and gathering evidence," it said.

Air accident investigators have now lifted the wreckage of the small plane onto a flat bed lorry, to be taken away for further inspection.

Alex Dunlop, a BBC Look East senior reporter who attended the site, said: "From the air you can see the pilot has attempted to land and then veered left off the strip into longer grass.

"I've just spoken to the landowner who owns Nayland Airfield and to local people.

"I understand the pilot was an elderly man and that he was very familiar with the airfield which he had flown in and out of countless times.

"On social media amateur pilots say this can be a difficult landing strip as it is on a steep hill."

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