Plane crash investigations in Halesworth and Pebmarsh go on

The crashes occurred over the summer months, the first at Heveningham Hall near Halesworth in July, and the second just six weeks later near Halstead. 

Emergency services were alerted to reports of an aircraft having crashed in the grounds of Heveningham Hall at around 5.10pm on July 6. 

The pilot was airlifted to hospital with serious injuries. Nobody else was reported to have been on board the plane.  

Emergency vehicles arriving at the scene in Heveningham Hall. Image: Charlotte Bond (Image: Charlotte Bond, Newsquest)

Speaking at the time, the police said they believed the pilot had been trying to land the plane in the grounds of the 18th century country house when the incident took place. 

The second incident occurred on August 21. Police, fire and ambulance crews responded to news of a crash near the A131 in Pebmarsh, between Halstead and Sudbury, at around 9.25am. 

The pilot, a man in his 70s, was found dead at the scene. There were no other passengers on board the aircraft. 

A road remained closed for some time after the crash in Pebmarsh. The pilot died at the scene of the accident. (Image: Newsquest)

A spokesperson from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch said that investigations into both accidents are ongoing. When complete, the findings will be published in the accident reports which will be available on the AAIB website.

Reports released this year have also provided new details on the “near miss” incidents that have happened in our region. 

One such incident occurred in Wattisham between a hang glider and an Apache helicopter on August 4 last year. 

The hang glider pilot said they were conducting a cross country flight when they noticed a “black thing” at approximately the same height. At first they thought it was a bird, but soon realised it was an aircraft flying straight towards them.  

The pilot said there was no time for a further check, and “pulled onto high speed” to get out of the aircraft’s way. They could not tell if the helicopter had seen them, but said it did not appear to alter its course. 

The hang glider pilot stated that they were very concerned and certainly felt in danger because the helicopter was at exactly the same height and flying straight at them. The hang glider pilot noted that they had been fortunate to see the helicopter in sufficient time to take collision avoidance action. 

However, the Apache pilot said that the risk of collision was low.  

They said they had identified the hang glider from 3-4 nautical miles away and judged that there would never be a loss of “safe separation” between the aircrafts. They did report sight of the hang glider to air traffic control.  

A report of the incident included comments from the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, who said: “The BHPA notes from the hang-glider pilot's report that whilst they saw the Apache quite late, the Apache captain's lookout and timely avoiding action was commendable.” 

Another incident occurred in Rattlesden, between Bury St Edmunds and Needham Market on August 29 last year.  

The pilot of an ASK 13 glider reported that they were carrying out a winch-trial lesson, and described the day as “reasonably windy”.  

As the pilot turned to their left, they spotted another aircraft, a PA-28 Cherokee, at “about 1 o’clock”. The pilot said the PA-28 turned left towards them, and then “obviously” spotted the glider, and turned left again. 

The glider’s pilot said they judged the risk of collision as medium with about 200m of separation. They were prepared to continue turning to avoid the PA-28, or would have landed in a field if necessary. 

However, the pilot of the PA-28 disagreed, and said there was never any risk of a crash. 

The pilot and their passenger said that they were flying circuits before planning to fly further afield.  

The pilot picked a field and an airspeed, and then noticed Rattlesden airfield, remarking to their passenger that they were “a bit close to it” and turned left. 

The passenger told the pilot: “Glider, right, quite close.” The pilot said they looked but could not see anything. The pilot looked but could not see anything, and the passenger clarified that the aircraft was below them. 

The pilot reassured the passenger, saying: “OK, that’s too close, but he’s not conflicting.” They said they could see that the glider would pass well-below them, and no evasive action was necessary.  

Analysis from the UK Airprox Board found that: “The PA28 and ASK13 pilots shared an equal responsibility for collision avoidance and not to operate in such proximity to other aircraft as to create a collision hazard.”