Pilot dies on moor

TURN OUT. . . Members of Oldham Mountain Rescue Team prepare to lead investigators to the crash site last night

AN investigation began today after a teenage shepherd found the body of a pilot strapped in the remains of his light aircraft on the moors at Greenfield.

Christopher Crowther (18) was herding sheep above Upperwood Farm when he spotted the wreckage of the two-seater CTSW microlight at 3.30pm yesterday.

It was around half a mile from the A635 Isle of Skye Road to Holmfirth, at Boggart Rocks.

Christopher, who was on the remote moorland with his brother James (20), raised the alarm when he met his father Chris at the roadside.

Police, fire and ambulance were called, and members of Oldham Mountain Rescue Service helped to scour the moors for remains of the craft.

Police and rescue team members camped by the wreckage overnight, sealing the area off for the Air Accident Investigation Branch inquiry which began this morning.

The body of the 41-year-old pilot was expected to be removed today.

He is believed to have set off from Barton Aerodrome near Manchester, at 9am yesterday, heading for Yorkshire. But the alarm was raised around 1 pm.

Christopher’s father Chris Crowther, from Upperwood House Farm, about half a mile from the crash site, said: “It was very foggy yesterday morning.

“It was unusual for Christopher and James to be up there, but they were herding some sheep for me, bringing them down for treatment.

“Chris spotted the white, red and blue wreckage and said it was in bits. It seems to have nose dived and cartwheeled about 100 metres breaking up into bits, and going straight into the hillside.

“The pilot was still strapped in but he realised nothing could be done for him.”

The £60,000 CTSW microlight is a modern carbon fibre machine, with a large cockpit, a range of 1,000 miles and a cruising speed of 120 miles per hour, using unleaded petrol.

Crew Commander Rob Steele from Mossley station said: “ We were called around 4 pm to make sure the area was safe. The aircraft had broken into two main bits, the tail plane and the rest. It was unrecognisable, but there was no sign of fire.”

The Air Accident Investigation Branch sent a three man team for an on-site investigation, before the craft is moved to the Branch’s headquarters at Farnborough, Hampshire, for more detailed work.

Deputy team leader of Oldham Mountain Rescue, Peter Hyde, said: “The air accident teams came around for an hour last night, briefly assessed the site and returned early this morning to launch a full investigation.

“Our full team was called out last night and worked on shifts to make sure the emergency teams were safe.

“We will remain on site throughout today to help the air accident teams get on and off the moor safely.

Mr Hyde said that light aircraft crashes are still relatively rare. He has only dealt with three such fatal crashes, including this one, during his 40 years with the mountain rescue service.

blob: In July pilot David Cummaford (46) escaped with two broken legs when his helicopter crash landed near his home at Packhorse Slack off the A62 at Delph.