Five People Killed In Incident

An aviation law specialist has welcomed the release of a new report into a mid-air collision involving two light aircraft which killed five people.

The Air Accidents Investigations Branch has outlined in the publication that a lack of information was a factor in the cause of the crash, which involved a Cessna 402 and a Rand KR-2 close to Coventry Airport in 2008.

According to the aviation authority, it was too late for the incident to be avoided by the time that the risks had been highlighted. Reports suggested that the left wing of the Cessna passed through the Rand KR-2.

It is thought that a landing sequence plan created by a controller at Coventry Airport lacked necessary understanding of the Cessna’s flight.

Keith Barrett of Irwin Mitchell’s Aviation Law team has represented families of those who have been killed in light aircraft crashes both in the UK and abroad, including the Farnborough air crash in 2008 which also involved a Cessna plane.

Commenting on the new report, he said: “This highlights clearly just how important it is for the necessary information to be shared fully between all points of contact when it comes to flights.

“It has been ruled that the lack of sufficient information played a major role in this incident, which suggests that the crash and subsequent deaths could have been avoided.

“However, what is now clear is that lessons must be learnt from this case and it should be used as an example in the future to ensure that every possible step is taken to prevent any similar incidents moving forward.”