Pilot landed plane on A40 near Cheltenham after engine failure

A pilot landed a plane on a busy road's central reservation after the engine stopped and he feared he would not be able to clear trees, a report found.

The plane landed on the A40 Golden Valley, near Cheltenham, during a bid to land at Gloucestershire Airport.

However, the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) said it could not "positively determine" cause of the engine failure in August.

No cars hit the plane and no-one was injured in the early evening crash.

The report said the pilot turned the carburettor heat - the system to mix air and fuel - off on their approach to the airport.

When the engine "ran roughly", the pilot tried to turn it back on before the engine stopped.

The pilot was "concerned" they would not clear trees at the airport and decided to land on the A40 instead.

"The aircraft was damaged beyond economic repair," the AAIB report added.

Witnesses to the crash said at the time the pilot did "an amazing job of getting it down safely".

Another added: "The plane looks fine, the bridge looks fine. It must have been quite a low landing to come in."

The aircraft was a single engine Fournier with two seats. It was manufactured in 1976.

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