UK pilot dies in crash in Turkey

Michael Newman, 53, from Suffolk, was flying the two-seater plane

A pilot from the UK has died in a light aircraft crash in northern Turkey, the Foreign Office has confirmed.

Michael Newman, 53, from Suffolk, was flying the two-seater plane, with a passenger believed to be from Pakistan, when it went missing on Sunday.

The Sky Arrow 650T plane went missing while flying towards Iran, after taking off from Trabzon Airport, Turkey.

Mr Newman was co-founder and co-director of Ipswich-based yacht designing company, Spirit Yachts Ltd.

'Extremely talented man'

Authorities located the aircraft today in a mountainous area near the town of Koprubasi in the Trabzon province, the local governor said.

Both men were found dead and the cause of the crash was under investigation, Governor Nuri Okutan said.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said the British man's family was receiving consular assistance.

Mr Newman's business partner, Sean McMillan, said he was "devastated" about the accident, describing Mr Newman as "an extremely talented man" and "a very, very keen amateur flyer".

'Very close family'

"From what I can understand, the weather closed in over the mountains. The high altitude fog came in and that was that."

Mr Newman leaves a wife and two adult sons, who Mr McMillan described as "a very, very close family."

"They are in the most ghastly state," he added.

The yacht-builder had been involved in the filming of the latest Bond film, Casino Royale, when the production company borrowed one of his Spirit yachts.

The Sky Arrow is designed and manufactured in Italy by Iniziative Industriali Italiane (Meteor) SpA, a company established in 1947.