'Unsurvivable' Chesterfield light aircraft crash blamed on bad weather
The Air Accident Investigations Branch has released its report into what happened
A light aircraft crash in Chesterfield which left a 71 year old pilot dead last year is being put down to bad weather.
An Air Accidents Investigation Branch report has concluded the incident on September 1 2024 happened after the plane attempted to set off in poor conditions.
It came down on lane off Sheepridge Lane, prompting a major emergency response.
The Evektor Sportstar SLM plane had taken off from Coal Aston Airfield near Dronfield and was attempting to get back to its home base at Clench Common Airfield in Wiltshire on the day of the crash.
The pilot took off earlier than planned at around 8am before running into cloud.
A witness reported the plane “just fell out of the clouds… spiralling out of control, straight down towards the ground”.
It crashed at 8:04am, just eight minutes after takeoff, before an 'intense' fire broke out.
The AAIB has deemed the crash was 'unsurvivable' and was primary down to the aircraft flying into bad weather, with the pilot not being qualified to handle the conditions.
No mechanical problems were discovered with the plane.