Southern Counties Glider tug accident

From BBC News….

One dead in plane crash

One person has died after a light aircraft crashed into a garden near a gliding club, police said.
The glider crashed on Sunday at about 1500 GMT in the garden of a house in West Chiltington, West Sussex.

The single-seater tug plane burst into flames on impact in Heather Lane.

Emergency services arrived at the scene of the crash near the South Downs Gliding Club. No-one else was injured in the incident.

The gliding club has declined to comment about the incident, which is understood to have occurred when the pilot and trainee in the glider detached their tow rope following take-off.

‘Attempted rescue’

A spokeswoman for West Sussex Fire and Rescue said they received a call at 1456 GMT to tell them a light aircraft had crashed near Parham Park airfield.

The spokesperson said: “The plane was destroyed on impact and then caught fire.

“It is believed one person died in the collision. At the moment we are not aware of any other fatalities.”

Residents and golfers attempted to rescue the man but were held back by the burning debris, the spokesman added.

The glider plane landed safely.

Investigators will now try to find out how the accident occurred.