| UK Aircraft Collision |
Two people have died after a pair of light aircraft collided in mid-air over the UK Midlands.
One of the planes crashed into a field near Blithfield Reservoir in Staffordshire, and ambulance crews confirmed two people in the plane died.
The other aircraft managed to land at East Midlands Airport in Leicestershire where the 3 people on board scrambled to safety.
Tim Atkinson, from the Air Accident Investigation Branch, said a "detailed technical examination" of the crash scene would begin on Monday morning.
He also confirmed the planes were on "private leisure flights" and neither was being directed by air traffic control.
Aircraft enthusiast Richard Chamberlain was watching the skies from his position parallel to the runway at East Midlands Airport when he saw the other plane land. He was listening on a scanner when he heard the mayday call go out from the pilot.
He said: "The pilot reported he had hit something. He didn't know what it was but said there was burning debris beneath him and he said he had lost part of his undercarriage. He requested emergency landing facilities.
"I saw the plane come into land, I was literally about 100 yards away and had a clear view.
"It was very unnerving watching it come in. It looked to have lost two or three wheels. You could see the pilot was shocked but he stayed calm and it was a text-book landing.
"It landed on its left-hand side, cocked over onto its wing, but there was no fire.
"I've never seen anything like this before - you hope everything is going to go OK and luckily there was no fire.
"The emergency services were already in place and the plane touched down about mid-point on the runway."
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