PLANE TRAGEDY
Brit pilot, 26, killed after plane spiralled and plummeted to the ground in horror crash in Spain
A BRIT pilot has died after his plane spiralled and plummeted to the ground in a horror crash in Spain.
The 26-year-old is believed to have died instantly after tragically crashing in a field during a training flight in Seville, Andalusia.
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The light aircraft hurtled towards the earth at around 12.15pm on Wednesday near the town of Pinzon.
The Brit - the sole occupant of the plane - is said to have been a pupil at Fly-in-Spain, one of the two training schools based at the airport.
A horrified onlooker watched the devastating incident unfold and reported the smash to emergency services.
Paramedics, police and firefighters scrambled to the scene after receiving several calls alerting them to the terrifying incident.
Footage showed the plane spinning dangerously out of control as it plunged towards the Earth, while an onlooker warned: "It’s going to crash!"
The plane is said to have began to leak fuel after hitting the ground, leaving emergency responders battling to contain the fire risk.
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The 26-year-old Brit was pronounced dead at the scene after rescuers pulled his body from the wreckage.
He was reportedly found to be in possession of a British flying licence and is presumed to have been attempting to upgrade his flight certification.
Police sources told local media the flight, which departed from Jerez Airport shortly before the disaster, had been registered and previously programmed in line with standard procedure.
Cops are currently investigating what could have caused the accident.
Fly-in-Spain, which describes itself on social media as one of the leading flight training schools in southern Spain with "over two decades of consecutive operations and satisfied clients" has yet to make any official comment.
Both the Civil Guard and the Civil Aviation Accident and Incident Investigation Commission (CIAIAC) have launched separate probes into the accident.
A spokesman for a regional government-run emergency services co-ordination centre confirmed: "The sole occupant of a light aircraft has died after his plane crashed over a rural area near to Utrera in the municipality of Seville.
"The accident occurred at 12.15pm yesterday with a witness alerting the emergency services to the spot where the plane came down which was a field 300 metres from the SE-9020 road near the town of Pinzon.
PLANE TRAGEDIES
"Paramedics were mobilised along with firefighters, Civil Guard, and an environmental officer who was in the area when the accident happened."
In May last year, Brit ex-pat Paul Lowry died after his plane plunged into the sea off a beach near the Spanish port city of Cartagena.
The 66-year-old was described at the time as an experienced pilot.
Javier Martinez Pacheco, head of flights at Totana Airdrome where Paul took off from shortly before his light aircraft came down, said at the time: "You know there’s risk attached to a hobby like flying but what’s happened is obviously very regrettable and tragic."
In December 2017, a former rally champion credited as Colin McRae’s mentor died in a horror air crash at Mutxamel Aerodrome near the Costa Blanca capital of Alicante.
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A damning report later concluded Aberdeen-born tycoon Donald Milne performed banned acrobatic stunts and also failed to respect the normal aerodrome circuit.
Milne, who was a well-known figure on the motorsport circuit, smashed into the back of a helicopter he had not seen as he tried to land.
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