Probe into gyrocopter death crash

Police were alerted to the crash by eyewitnesses

Air investigators are sifting through the wreckage of a gyrocopter which crashed in a north Dorset field, killing the 58-year-old male pilot.

An eyewitness said he saw a "fireball hurtling to the ground" shortly after watching another aircraft land safely.

Emergency services were called to the scene at Kington Magna near Gillingham on Thursday evening.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch is trying to discover the cause. Post-mortem tests will be held next week.

An inquest will be held next Wednesday, a police spokesman said.

The pilot, who is thought to be from Blandford, Dorset, died at the scene and his next of kin has been informed.

Details of his identity have not yet been released.

I wanted to make sure, to see if I could do anything for the pilot David Spinney

Several residents called police after watching the burning aircraft fall about 500ft (152m) to the ground.

About 30 firefighters and eight engines were sent to the crash site, close to Back Lane and Pill Meadow, which is a remote area in the middle of farmland close to a housing estate.

Eyewitness Chris Lyle, who was fishing nearby, said he believed a microlight landed before the fireball appeared.

He said: "We looked up and saw a microlight land, then a separate fireball hurtling to the ground like a brick. I assume it was a second microlight or another airborne vehicle."

David Spinney was in his garden at the time when he saw two gyrocopters in the sky, one with a light on.

He said: "One of them sounded wrong, it was a rattling sound.

"Suddenly the top end of the helicopter seemed to shatter in megabits and instantly the helicopter plummeted to the ground.

"The rotor came off in the air, the engine stopped or stalled straight away. It all happened in milliseconds."

Pilot trapped

Mr Spinney, 58, called 999 and went to join two other people who were helping the pilot.

"I wanted to make sure, to see if I could do anything for the pilot," he added.

"I checked him for a pulse, I checked for reaction in the eyes with a torch and felt his chest. I could tell straight away that there were serious internal injuries.

"One of the men tried to get him out of the helicopter because he was trapped by his legs."

He said the pilot of the other gyrocopter later came over and joined them.

A gyrocopter looks like a small helicopter and can fly slow and low to the ground.