A verdict of accidental death was recorded on the pilot of the light aircraft that crashed in the grounds of the Fire Service College last year.
Graham Wilson, 34, from Coventry died of multiple injuries after the Cessna plane he was flying collided with another Cessna on December 18 last year. Christopher Ball, the pilot of the other aircraft, was circling above the college when the accident occurred. He told the inquest that he saw Mr Wilson’s Cessna 152 a split second before the collision. “I was looking almost diagonally into its cockpit. My aircraft was travelling at about 80mph, and was about 800 to 1,000ft. We were at exactly the same height. I managed to pull up, and as I did so I heard a bang.”
He told the Coroner that as he made a rapid descent he saw Mr Wilson’s Cessna spiral out of control before it crash-landed on the college grounds. Mr Ball and his passenger escaped with minor injuries.