Plane carrying Queen’s horse trainer crashes at racecourse

A RACEHORSE trainer to the Queen was left shaken yesterday after his propeller plane crashed on landing before a race meeting.

Onlookers said Richard Hannon’s light aircraft lost control after touching down at Haydock Park and smashed into another plane.

Concerns have been raised about whether the treacherous ground conditions could have led to the crash.

Mr Hannon was travelling with Gary Mahon, his apprentice, Anna Lisa Bald-

‘The ground was very soft. When the aircraft landed we skidded and didn’t know where we would end up’

ing, the wife of his trainer Andrew Balding, and his twin brother Henry at the time of the accident.

While nobody was injured, both Mr Hannon and fellow passenger Ms Balding raised fears about the poor conditions for the landing.

“The ground was very soft,” said Mr Hannon. “When the aircraft landed we slipped and slided and skidded and we didn’t know where we would end up.”

Mrs Balding echoed Mr Hannon’s concerns, saying: “I would be amazed if the air strip was suitable for landing. We skidded very badly and ended up crashing into [ jockey] Ryan Moore’s plane and writing it off.”

Ms Balding praised the efforts of the plane’s pilot, saying he did a “fantastic job in bringing the plane to a halt”.

Haydock Park is one of very few racecourses to still allow light aircraft to land in the centre of the track.

A racecourse spokesman denied it was unsafe for Mr Hannon’s aircraft to attempt a landing. He said: “The previous plane landed reporting no issues whatsoever and indeed no pilot has apportioned any blame to the airstrip.”