Hill.
TWO men died yesterday after their light aircraft struck a hilltop as
they made their final approach to Glasgow Airport.
The Dutch pilot and passenger were on a flight from the island of
Texel off the coast of Holland to a fishing exhibition and conference in
Glasgow.
Shortly before 10am the pilot reported icing on the aircraft and
problems with the air speed indicator as they flew near the Fintry
Hills, about 12 miles from Glasgow Airport.
Less than 15 minutes later the aircraft disappeared from radar and a
full alert involving local emergency services, as well as Royal Air
Force helicopters and mountain rescue teams, was launched.
Farmers were contacted to discover if they had heard or seen any signs
of the stricken aircraft and the rescue was eventually guided by
information from Mrs Janice Davies, of Lurg Farm, near Fintry.
She directed the RAF helicopters, two Wessex from Leuchars in Fife and
a Sea King from Northumberland to an area near Dunbrach Hill, a craggy
1700ft peak about a mile from her farm.
Working in misty and wet weather the Sea King crew located the
wreckage of the six-seater Cessna 210 near the summit of the hill just
above the woodland line and dropped mountain rescue team members to
investigate.
They discovered the bodies of Mr Drewe Hoexum, 46, and Mr Sybe Van Der
Knaap, 46, in the wrecked and partly burned out aircraft.
Their bodies were later taken to Stirling Royal Infirmary where
post-mortem examinations will be conducted today.
Formal identification was expected to be completed with the use of
dental records sent from Holland. Relatives of the victims were expected
to arrive in Scotland early today.
Deputy Chief Constable of Central Scotland Police Mr Douglas McMurdo
said it appeared the aircraft had struck the top of the hill and fallen
back on to the crags below.
He added: ''There is some confusion over the flight path the aircraft
was taking, but it is my understanding that its flight plan was from
Texel to Glasgow.''
The Civil Aviation Authority later confirmed the Cessna was flying
from the Dutch island, part of the Wadden Islands and a favourite
holiday resort, direct to Glasgow and that there would have been no
reason for it to divert to Edinburgh or any other airfield.
The RAF at the serch and rescue co-ordination centre in Pitreavie said
the pilot of Cessna call sign PH-EYE had given a garbled message
complaining of problems with icing and an air speed indicator, and that
they had been called in when radar contact was lost.
Mrs Davies, 57, said she had heard a tremendous bang as she sat in her
living room and thought that two lorries may have crashed on the road. A
short time later she was contacted by police and told of the missing
aircraft and she voiced her fears about the site.
She added: ''They headed up through the mist and a short time later
returned to tell me they had found the wreckage and the bodies of these
two unfortunate men.''
Four teenage friends from Glasgow were camping nearby and Alan
Hamilton, of Dunragit Street, Haghill, said: ''We heard a crash, then a
loud boom but had heard no sound of a plane going over. It was as if he
had no engine on when he came down.''
Members of the Air Investigation Bureau from Farnborough in Hampshire
arrived at the site of the crash in the Campsie Fells late last night.
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