'We have a major problem... we're going in!' Final words of doomed plane's pilot moments before he crashed into house, killing five
Last updated at 4:06 PM on 31st May 2011
A pilot told air traffic control 'we have a major problem... we're going in' seconds before crashing into a house and killing all five people on board, an inquest heard today.
Michael Roberts radioed and asked to make an immediate return after reporting an engine vibration moments after take off in Biggin Hill, Kent.
But the doomed twin-engined Cessna Citation 500 never made it back and hit a house which burst into flames.
'We're going in!': Pilot Michael Roberts radioed his control tower to say the Cessna 500 he was flying was in difficulty. Shortly afterwards it crashed into this house in Farnborough, Kent
Coroner Roy Palmer, sitting in Bromley, Kent, said it was 'extremely fortuitous' that no one was in the house at the time and through 'great good fortune' that no one was killed on the ground.
Mr Roberts,who was supposed to be flying to Pau, south-west France, told air traffic control: 'We have a major problem, a major problem. It looks as though we're going in, we're going in.'
Witnesses reported seeing the Bermuda-registered aircraft flying low above a residential area and a playing area in Farnborough, Kent, before it crashed.
All five people on board the Cessna were killed, including Mr Roberts, 63, co-pilot Michael Chapman, 57, and passengers David Leslie, 54, Richard Lloyd, 63, and Christopher Allarton, 25.
Tragic: Richard Lloyd, 63 a father-of-three, right, and former touring car driver David Leslie, 54, left, were both killed in the crash
Although an experienced pilot, Mr Chapman, from Shoreham, West Sussex, had only recently qualified on this type of aircraft, the inquest jury was told.
Nicholas Dann, of the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), said Mr Roberts had considerably more experience on board such planes and it was understood that he was mentoring Mr Chapman during the flight.
Both pilots were qualified to operate on the day, March 30, 2008, and the weather conditions were good with a light westerly wind and good visibility with a cloud base of 4,000ft.
Plane victim: Chris Allarton, 25, with his girlfriend Jane Oswin
In Mr Roberts' first contact with air traffic control following take off at around 1.30pm, he said: 'We're making an immediate turn, to return to the airport, immediate turn to the airport.'
After being asked what the problem was, he added: 'Er, don't know Sir. We're getting engine vibration. We'll come straight back.'
Moments later Mr Roberts reported a 'major problem' during his final transmission before the aircraft started to descend.
Mr Dann said: 'At about the time of the final transmission several witnesses saw the aircraft about two nautical miles north of Biggin Hill.
'It was observed flying low around an area by a playing area and houses.'
Dumfries-born former British Touring Car Championship driver Mr Leslie was a father-of-two while Belfast-born Apex Motorsport boss Mr Lloyd had three daughters and lived in Brackley, Northamptonshire.
Mr Allarton, who lived in Coventry, had graduated from Coventry University and had just started working for Apex Motorsport.
Keith Conradi, chief inspector of the AAIB, said the investigation into what caused the crash was made more difficult by the absence of any 'black box' recorder on the plane, registration VP-BGE.
The Cessna was not required by law to have one fitted. However, the AAIB recommended after the accident that they should always be installed in that type of aircraft.
Mr Conradi said: 'This investigation was particularly difficult because of the lack of recorded data, ie a black box. We had to do an awful lot of work to try and understand what happened in this event.'
Lucky escape: Edwin Harman was on holiday when the doomed Cessna crashed into his home
Doomed plane: The aircraft that crashed was a Cessna Citation 500, like the one pictured. It did not have a black box recorder on board
By 1.20pm on the day of the crash, permission had been granted for the jet to taxi for take off and it was observed by air traffic control taking off normally without any apparent problems.
All five people on board died at the scene from injuries to their chest and head, as well as suffering from smoke inhalation.
Detective Chief Inspector Jane Corrigan, of the Metropolitan Police, said it was clear early on from their inquiries with Biggin Hill airport that five people had been travelling on the jet when it crashed.
She said: 'We spoke to a number of people including one who said she saw the plane flying low with its left wing at an angle and then it nose-dived into the ground and exploded.
'Another witness heard a very loud jet engine as if it was trying to change gear and then saw the plane flying low and the engine struggling.'
The house owner, Edwin Harman, was away on holiday while his wife Pat was spending time with her daughter when the accident happened.
The garage of a neighbouring house and a car parked next to it were also destroyed by the impact and ensuing fire. Remarkably no one on the ground was injured.
The inquest continues.
(source: dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1392754/We-major-problem--going-Final-words-doomed-plane-moments-crashed-house-killing-five.html#ixzz1Nx0GWiGC)
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