THE GAZETTE can reveal that shortly after 5.15pm yesterday afternoon (Saturday September 4) two planes collided over Ryde on the Isle of Wight.
Emergency services rushed to the scene after one of the light aircraft crash landed in dense woodland.
A father and son are believed to have both died instantly after the mid-air collision over a wooded area near to West Ashey Farm in Ryde.
A second aircraft involved in the collision limped back to Bembridge Airport with a damaged wing and made a crash landing.
There were two persons on board: a forty-year-old man who escaped without serious injury and a second man, believed to be the passenger, who suffered serious internal injuries after crash landing on runway. The man was taken away strapped to a spinal board by IW ambulance service to St Mary’s Hospital for treatment.
Bembridge Airport Security staff gave emergency first aid to the pilot and passenger who crash landed at Bembridge.
A Coastguard Rescue Helicopter from Portland was sent to check on the pilot and his passenger shortly after the crash landing. A second Coastguard Rescue Helicopter from Lee-on-the-Solent searched the woodland for any signs of life. Bembridge Coastguard Search and Rescue assisted IW Fire and Rescue on the ground.
A local farmer from the Ashey area, who did not wish to be named, said he and his father found the plane shortly after it crashed. “There was lots of smoke and trees were on fire and the plane was nose down in the mud,” he said. “The plane was upside down and it didn’t look like anyone was alive.”
Police closed off Rowlands Lane in Havenstreet, near Ryde, and have set up an incident support office at Havenstreet Railway station.
The light aircraft are believed to be taking part in this weekend’s Schneider Trophy races at Bembridge Airport.
A Hampshire police spokesman said: “The circumstances surrounding the cause of the crash are still to be investigated. There are not thought to be any survivors from one of the planes.”
