Plane crash could have claimed more lives

5:40pm Monday 31st March 2008

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A PLANE crash in which five people lost their lives could have killed three more had it happened an hour earlier.

A twin-engine private jet crashed into numbers 4 and 5 Romsey Close in Farnborough yesterday afternoon after the pilot of the jet reported a mechanical malfunction.

All five people on board the Cessna Citation jet were killed when it crashed into the houses, demolishing one house and severely damaging the garage of another.

Pat and Ed Harman, who own the house that was destroyed, were not in at the time.

Their sons Steven and Peter Hale, aged 45 and 47 respectively, said in a joint statement: "We'd like to thank all the work of the emergency services and thank them for their support and prompt response.

"They are devastated at the loss of their home and life-long belongings, they are also thankful they were not in the property when this terrible tragedy occured.

"My father is still overseas, and he's on his way back to the UK.

"There would have been no chance of surviving had they been inside the property and on a normal Sunday afternoon they probably would have been in.

"Had it been an hour earlier my mother, her brother, and his partner would have been inside the house.

They added: "To us it's bricks and mortar, we didn't know it was going on until we saw it on the TV, we're thankful they're alive, they're thankful, there are life-time possessions in there, none of us would like to lose any of those, but my mother's first thoughts were to the victims, the deceased that were actually on the plane."

"We've seen a lot of the devastation from the television and newspaper pictures, it is quite distressing to see how much of the house was destroyed.

"They've been here a number of years, had a fantastic home, and it's really neighbourly round here.

"They're retired and enjoying life, and now it's gone - it's been taken away from them but they've got each other and I'm sure they'll rebuild their lives."