Air crash inquiry resumes

The two people were heading for Herefordshire

Investigations are resuming into the crash of a civilian light aircraft in Cwmbran which claimed the lives of two people.

The plane crashed into a south Wales hillside on Monday, killing Cardiff Flying Club members Kevin Mansbridge and Gerald Prangley - both in their 50s - but the cause remains unknown.

The Piper PA38 Tomahawk, from Cardiff International Airport to Shobdon Airfeld near Leominster, was reported missing at 1245 BST.

The plane had disappeared from air traffic control radar screens and radio contact was lost.

After a search that involved police from three different forces and a helicopter, the debris from the plane was located on a hillside at around 1400 BST.

Accident investigators

It had crashed at the disused Blaenbran reservoir shortly after taking off for the Herefordshire town at 1100 BST.

Air accident investigators were called to the scene and the Civil Aviation Authority was informed.

Investigators are continuing to examine wreckage in an effort to discover what caused the crash.

Weather at the time was poor with very low cloud.

No distress signal

Inspector Allyn Richards said there are electricity pylons in the area and investigations were ongoing as to whether they had any part to play in the crash.

He added: "As far as we are aware there was no distress signal issued from the aircraft before it crashed."

Mountain rescue teams were called in because the site was passable only by helicopters and their off-road vehicles.