Pilot 'may have died before crash'

A Ryanair pilot flying a private light aircraft that crashed may have died before the aircraft went down.

A post-mortem examination showed that the pilot, Anthony Corr, 55, from Stratford-upon-Avon, had severe coronary heart disease, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch said. Its report added that there was "evidence to suggest that he may have been incapacitated, or died, prior to the collision with the ground" of the Piper PA aircraft over Bladon in Oxfordshire on 15 January this year.

The report said it was likely that the passenger, Richard Leonard, who was also killed in the crash and who was a qualified private pilot, had taken control and attempted to flythe aircraft.