A pilot has died after two gliders crashed into one another above a city in Leicestershire.
One glider was found in a subject on the outskirts of Melton Mowbray and the pilot was pronounced useless on the scene, Leicestershire Police stated.
The second glider escaped the incident on Thursday afternoon with minor accidents after touchdown safely close by.
The glider crashed right into a subject on the outskirts of the Leicestershire city
(Tom Maddick / SWNS)
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has been notified and shall be main a probe into the crash.
The authorities company declined to remark however a spokesperson confirmed that the wreckage had been recovered and the investigation was ongoing.
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One resident advised the BBC they noticed the gliders collide over Melton Mowbray, with one crashing near the Roundhouse Park housing property within the west of the city.
David Leach, who lives on Marigold Crescent, stated: “I came out and we just looked up watching them circle right above us and then, all of a sudden, there was a mighty bang,” he stated.
The wreckage was present in a subject on the outskirts of the city
(Tom Maddick / SWNS)
“I think the end of the wing of one clipped the back end of one glider, chopping his tail end off and one of them just came crashing down like a rocket. The noise was terrible. It was just so bad to see and it happened so quick.”
Another resident of the close by village Burton Lazars claimed to the broadcaster that she had spoken to one of many pilots concerned after the crash, who had “walked across the field where he landed and knocked on our door to use the phone”.
He was not bodily injured however was “very shaken and concerned about the other pilot”, she added.
Gliders are plane with lengthy mounted wings and no engine. While competitors fashions usually have wingspans of round 18 metres, and weigh between 400 and 600kg, in line with the outlet Aerospace Testing International, some have a wingspan exceeding 30 metres.
Emergency providers rushed to scene of the crash
(Michael Riley / SWNS)
A spokesperson for Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service stated: “We received a call from Leicestershire Police at 15:05 to a microlight or glider that had crashed in a field in Melton Mowbray.
“We sent an appliance from Melton Mowbray Station and Birstall Station.”
Leicestershire Police has urged anybody with data or footage of the incident to contact police on 101, quoting incident 422 of August 17.
Additional reporting by PA