Chesterfield pilot, 85, hit lamp post during plane crash

The home-built plane crashed at Sandtoft Airfield seriously injuring the two men after the aircraft struck a lamp post, an investigation has concluded.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch published a report on February 11 into the crash that happened at the North Lincolnshire airfield on October 31 last year.

The report said the 85-year-old pilot had been flying for about 30 years but had only recently bought the home-built craft he was flying on the day.

On approach to the runway the report said the pilot got “a bit low”.

The report added: “He heard his passenger saying ‘there’s a lighting column’, or words to that effect, and a second later he left an impact.”

The aircraft hit the road and slid about 35m before coming to a stop against the airfield perimeter fence.

The pilot had previously carried out a 1.2hour flight with the previous owner and had logged eight hours as pilot-in-command leading up to the crash.

The report stated: “The aircraft struck a lamp post on short final to Runway 23. This caused the aircraft to pitch nose-down and hit a road.”

Weeks before the crash the pilot had experienced difficulties landing the aircraft at his local farm strip of Coal Aston so he had flown to Sandtoft.

On the day of the crash the pilot was carrying out circuits at Sandtoft.

Both the pilot and his passenger were seriously injured in the incident and the aircraft was destroyed. Firefighters and police from Humberside attended the scene following the crash and both men were taken to hospital.