This Is Guernsey

TWO men who died after a private aircraft en route to Guernsey crashed into the sea six miles north of Cherbourg yesterday might be Channel Islanders.

One man survived. Three people were airlifted from the scene but two were dead on arrival at a French hospital.

A survivor, unofficially named as Mark Wilkinson from Birmingham, is in hospital recovering from hypothermia and extreme shock.

Cherbourg’s prosecutor made the possible CI link at a press briefing last evening and said that efforts were being made to identify the two victims.

The eight-seater Beechcraft 58P took off from Coventry at 9.12am for Lorient in southern Brittany, said the prosecutor.

It was due to land in Guernsey to refuel but one of the plane’s twin engines failed over mid-Channel, journalists were told.

Port engine failure was reported to Jersey control tower, which tracks the Channel Islands zone, at 10.08am and a mayday call followed at 10.30am.

‘The fire crews here were called to standby at about 10.30am and the pilot decided he would not land in Alderney and carried on and we were stood down. We heard it was engine trouble and perhaps the trouble died away and came back,’ said Alderney Airport manager Keith Webster.

Jersey air traffic control alerted the French coastguard when it lost contact with the aircraft.

Guernsey Airport director Colin Le Ray said: ‘It was not in our control zone when it went missing. I understand it was not a locally-based aircraft but that is not to say there were no Channel Islanders on board.’

Steve Read, a manager at Jersey Airport, confirmed the initial report of a port engine failure on the American-registered aircraft.

‘We don’t know at this stage what caused the starboard engine to lose power,’ said Mr Read.

Aurigny flight GR504 from Southampton to Alderney with nine passengers on board responded when French authorities relayed the mayday and within five minutes had located the plane wreck.

‘Captain Stephen Clarke picked up a radio transmission indicating a private plane was in trouble with engine failure and was being forced to ditch,’ said managing director Malcolm Hart.

‘Captain Clarke descended to 2,000 feet and was told of the light aircraft’s position by air traffic control in Jersey.

‘The aircraft was identified near the coast and a liferaft was spotted with one person on board and what appeared to be debris close by.’

Captain Clarke spotted the craft within five minutes of intercepting the distress call. He radioed the wreck’s position to air traffic control in Cherbourg.

‘He then identified the debris was in fact two people approximately 200 yards away,’ said Mr Hart.

Captain Clarke kept the aircraft in sight until a rescue helicopter arrived about 25 minutes after the initial transmission.

French coastguard had alerted Channel Islands Air Search and the Alderney lifeboat at 10.30am.

The lifeboat was stood down and the Air Search plane was called back after taking off.

The Gendarmerie Maritime is today trying to establish the cause of the accident.

The French authorities have warned shipping to keep clear of the area as floating debris might prove important in establishing what went wrong.

Article posted on 24th January, 2008 - 12.00am