Four die in collision between helicopter and small plane

tragedy: Both aircraft understood to have come from Wycombe Air Park

Four people have died in a mid-air collision between a helicopter and a twoseater aircraft, crash scene investigators have said.

Both of the aircraft are understood to have come from Wycombe Air Park and collided near the village of Waddesdon, in Buckinghamshire, shortly after midday yesterday.

Superintendent Rebecca Mears of Thames Valley said the aircraft were carrying two people each.

She said she could not give any details of the identity or the genders of the victims at this stage and her “first priority” was the next of kin.

The two aircraft came down close to, but not in, the famous Waddesdon Estate, the former country seat of the Rothschild banking dynasty.

The plane involved was a Cessna 152, built in 1982 and owned by Airways Aero Associations which is based at Wycombe Air Park.

It had flown almost 14,000 hours as of May and had previously suffered substantial damage to its landing gear, propeller and engine following a crash at a Cornish airfield in 1993.

An archived report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) shows the pilot admitted the accident was caused by his “misjudgment and lack of experience”.

The crash occurred about 20 miles from the airfield.

Police said it was “too early to tell” what might have caused the fatal collision.

Picture: BBC. An aerial image from the scene of the tragedy near the village of Waddesdon in Buckinghamshire.