Pilot dies after light aircraft crashes and burst into flames shortly after taking off from nearby airfield in Sussex
- Plane came down in the village of Cross in Hand in Heathfield shortly after 11am
- Pilot had taken off from nearby Voliamo Flying School before an engine failure
- Witness said he was in the air for 'three hundred feet' before crashing into a field
A pilot died today after his light aircraft crashed and burst into flames after an engine failure just seconds after take off.
The plane came down in open ground near the village of Cross in Hand in Heathfield shortly after 11am.
The pilot had taken off from the nearby Voliamo Flying School before an engine failure caused him to plunge into a nearby field.
A witness told MailOnline: 'He was a private pilot. He took off and was in the air for about three hundred feet before the engine failed.
'He tried to land in a field just outside the runway but he crashed and two fuel tanks exploded. The fire brigade arrived five minutes later. He died in the wreckage'
Police and ambulance crews responded to the incident while firefighters put out the flames.
The plane came down in open ground near the village of Cross in Hand in Heathfield shortly after 11am
Wreckage of the plane after it came down and burst into flames in an airfield in Sussex today
A policeman guarding the site of the crash near the village of Cross in Hand near Heathfield, East Sussex
Another witness told the Brighton Argus: 'A pilot had an accident. They landed a couple of fields off the runway - they crashed.
'The fire brigade came but the plane was already on fire. Nobody could do anything about it.'
The Air Accident Investigations Branch is investigating today's crash.
Share this article
An East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: 'Crews were called following reports of a light aircraft crash.
'They used one in seven foam to extinguish the fire.'
South East Coast Ambulance Service said it had sent 'a number of resources' to the scene.
Sussex Police said: 'The aircraft came down in open ground'.
There was another plane crash in the area in 2016, when the pilot crashed into a tree. He was the only person on board and escaped unhurt.
Emergency services at the scene following the horrific crash earlier today, with the pilot dying
The plane came down in open ground near the village of Cross in Hand in Heathfield shortly after 11am
Most watched News videos
- Shocking moment school volunteer upskirts a woman at Target
- Sweet moment Wills handed get well soon cards for Kate and Charles
- Appalling moment student slaps woman teacher twice across the face
- 'Inhumane' woman wheels CORPSE into bank to get loan 'signed off'
- Shocking scenes in Dubai as British resident shows torrential rain
- Prince William resumes official duties after Kate's cancer diagnosis
- Chaos in Dubai morning after over year and half's worth of rain fell
- 'Incredibly difficult' for Sturgeon after husband formally charged
- Rishi on moral mission to combat 'unsustainable' sick note culture
- Mel Stride: Sick note culture 'not good for economy'
- Jewish campaigner gets told to leave Pro-Palestinian march in London
- Shocking video shows bully beating disabled girl in wheelchair
