Fatal Oxford plane crash investigation begins

Investigators are due to examine the wreckage of a plane that crashed near Oxford leaving two men on board dead.

The light aircraft crashed into a snowy field near the A4095 Grove Road in Bladon, near Oxford Airport, on Friday.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said it was sending investigators to the scene.

Eyewitnesses said flames from the wreckage rose 30ft (9m) into the air after the crash, which happened in poor weather conditions at about 1400 GMT.

The plane, which the AAIB confirmed as a Piper PA-31, was not based at the airport, but had been grounded since Christmas because of the weather.

The wreckage is due to be recovered later, Thames Valley Police said.

South Central Ambulance Service said the plane came down in a field about half a mile from Heath Lane at Bladon.

The fire service sent four crews to the scene, but they had difficulty in putting the fire out because the remote location made it difficult to run hoses to the crash site.

Insp Paul Wince, of Thames Valley Police, said: "The plane was completely destroyed in the crash, both by the impact and fire.

"We will begin a stage of reconstructing what happened and recovering the wreckage of the aircraft."