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Two passengers ‘miraculously’ survive after light aircraft crashes into tree

Investigators are looking to find the cause of the crash

Lamiat Sabin
Thursday 01 September 2022 17:22 BST
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A light aircraft crashed into a tree in the hamlet of Southend near Henley-on-Thames
A light aircraft crashed into a tree in the hamlet of Southend near Henley-on-Thames (Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service)

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Two people emerged unharmed after their light aircraft crashed into a tree.

Six fire engines were dispatched to the scene by the Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and Buckinghamshire fire services at about 1.55pm on Tuesday (30 August).

The plane came down and crashed on Dudley Lane, in the hamlet of Southend on the border of Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire near the town of Henley-on-Thames.

Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said that “miraculously both the pilot and passenger were uninjured”.

(Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service)

Images released by the fire service show the aircraft nose down and bent into the ground with its wings partially detached.

Fire crews cordoned off the scene and made the plane safe by disconnecting the battery and stopping fuel from leaking out of the tank before leaving the scene at 3.33pm.

Thames Valley Police officers, who are supporting an investigation into the cause of the crash, had also attended the scene.

A spokesperson for the Air Accidents Investigation Branch said it had been notified of the crash.

They added: “An investigation has been launched and we have begun making enquiries.”

It follows a light aircraft in Florida running out of fuel and plummetting out of the sky and into a busy road.

The pilot survived the crash, which occurred at around 4pm on 19 August, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The light aircraft dropped from the sky and nose-dived into a driveway along Orlando’s University Boulevard.

Alarmed motorists watched in horror as the single-engine Cessna 182 hurtled towards the road, with one car passenger filming the crash on their phone camera.

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