Waddesdon air crash: Police hunt for clues after four confirmed dead

Police are resuming their hunt for clues following a collision between a helicopter and an aircraft over Buckinghamshire.

The victims, two pilots and two passengers, have yet to be named. Police say their priority was finding and informing their next-of-kin.

Superintendent Rebecca Mears, of Thames Valley Police, confirmed the death toll in the aftermath of a crash crash in Waddesdon on Friday.

She said air crash investigators and police were expected to be at the scene until at least Monday. Police say it is "too early to tell" what might have caused the crash.

Police at the scene near Waddesdon, in Buckinghamshire (PA Wire/PA Images)
Police at the scene near Waddesdon, in Buckinghamshire (PA Wire/PA Images)

The collision occurred at 12.06pm close to, but not in, the Waddesdon Estate, the former country seat of the Rothschild banking dynasty.

Both aircraft are believed to have come from the Wycombe Air Park, which is about 20 miles from the crash site, and were carrying two passengers each.

(Sky News)
(Sky News)

The plane involved was a Cessna 152 built in 1982 and owned by Airways Aero Associations which is based at the Wycombe Air Park.

It had flown almost 14,000 hours as of May and had previously suffered substantial damage to its landing gear, propeller and engine following a crash at a Cornish airfield in 1993.

An archived report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) shows the pilot admitted the accident was caused by his "misjudgment and lack of experience".