Pilot died after take-off crash

11:06am Friday 4th July 2008

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A PLANE crash which killed a pilot when his aircraft hit a grounded jet after failing to take off was an accident.

An inquest at County Hall, Maidstone, heard that Steven Davis, aged 36, of Orpington, suffered fatal injuries when his De Havilland Turbo Beaver hit a static display aircraft at the end of the runway.

The jury heard how the experienced pilot was preparing to take eight parachutists on a jump from Headcorn aerodrome in Kent on March 11 last year.

Jump master Simon Hughes told the inquest how he heard the pilot shout "abort" and one of the parachutists shout "brace, brace, everyone on the floor" before the left wing and cockpit of the aircraft collided with a camouflaged F100 fighter jet parked as a museum exhibit off the end of the runway.

Mr Hughes said: "We crossed the runway and I heard Steve shout 'abort'.

"He had his hands on the throttle, he kept pulling it back.

"I realised we'd gone quite a distance past the runway at this point.

"A few expletives were coming out.

"I knew we were still on the ground, I could feel it."

Mr Hughes recalled how the emergency doors then "flew open" and he helped his students out of the aircraft.

Mr Davis was unconscious in the cockpit. He was airlifted to the Royal London Hospital but died from his injuries.

The inquest heard how the subsequent Air Accidents Investigation Branch report into the crash found the aircraft's wing flaps had not been set correctly for take-off.

Coroner Stephen Beck recorded a verdict of accidental death and said he intended to make a recommendation to the Civil Aviation Authority that unlicensed runways, such as the runway Mr Davis failed to take off from, comply with requirements for licensed runways in relation to their end markings and distances.

He also made a further two recommendations for Headcorn aerodrome to improve the runway's markings and operations.