Experts sift plane crash wreckage

The cause of the crash is being investigated. Photo by Oonagh Cousins

Air accident investigators will begin examining the wreckage of a light aircraft which crashed in Hampshire killing the two people on board.

The couple, who have not been named, died when the plane came down on its way from Hertfordshire to Jersey.

It crashed into a hillside between Steep and Froxfield, near Petersfield, on Friday and caught fire.

The man was a member of North London Flying School and the Piper aircraft was based at its Panshanger airfield.

A spokesman for the school said he was "deeply saddened" by the man's death.

"He was an outstanding person, he was a pilot and a good friend."

The four-seater, single-engine aircraft came down in trees on a steep hill known locally as The Hangers.

Simon Bridger, who owns Ashford Farm near the scene of the crash, said: "There was no smoke or anything. It was raining quite hard but then I think it's quite dense woodland so I suppose it has hit the trees."

Two coastguard helicopters and a search team were called in to try to locate any survivors but emergency services later said it was thought the couple in the plane died on impact.

A Solent Coastguard watch officer said flying conditions had been very difficult.

"The coastguard helicopter had to fly very low in bad visibility, with rain and low cloud, to locate the aircraft," he said.

The couple were thought to have been heading to Jersey for the Easter weekend.

Hampshire Police said more than 20 firefighters worked to put out the flames, and later used ropes to stop the wreckage sliding down the slope of the hill.

A search and rescue team was also sent to the scene with heavy machinery to lift the wreckage and help investigators from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).