Two walk away virtually unscathed after 70-year-old Tiger Moth crashes in Moray barley field

By FRANK URQUHART
Published on 14/08/2012 00:00

TWO men escaped with minor injuries after a vintage Tiger Moth biplane ploughed into a field of barley.

The distinctive yellow aircraft crashed in Moray as it came in to land at a private airstrip on the Shempston Estate, near the frontline airbase at RAF Lossiemouth.

The aircraft was badly damaged, but the occupants walked free, virtually unscathed in the crash on Sunday night. The two men were taken by ambulance to Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin for treatment to minor injuries.

An investigation into the cause of the crash is under way.

The Tiger Moth, which is owned by local haulier Robin Falconer, 63, has been a fam­iliar sight in the skies over Moray since Mr Falconer, who owns Kirkhill Sand Quarry at Ashgrove, Elgin, bought the

De Havilland biplane in 1981.

It is understood that Mr Falconer was not in the plane. He could not be contacted for comment yesterday.

David Pattinson, the Grampian Fire and Rescue Service incident commander, said: “There were two casualties who self-rescued from the plane and were taken to hospital by ambulance.

“It crashed in an open field and our first task was to set up an inner cordon for the safety of the occupants and our crew, and isolate any potential ignition sources.”

The plane was popular at the Shempston Flying Club, a team of eight flying enthusiasts founded by Mr Falconer.

Grampian Fire and Rescue Service sent three units to the scene. A search and rescue helicopter was scrambled from RAF Lossiemouth, but was recalled.

A spokesman for the government’s Air Accidents Investigations Branch said the agency was aware of the accident and would be investigating.

He added: “The investigators are carrying out an investigation by correspondence, which will involve writing to the pilot and anyone else involved. They will not be sending investigators to the scene.”

He added: “The primary aim of the AAIB is to see what can be learned from any particular incident and to make sure these things don’t happen again.”

A police spokesman said: “Grampian Police can confirm they were called to Shempston Airfield near Duffus, Moray, after a Tiger Moth light aircraft came down in a field on Sunday evening. Two people were treated for minor injuries as a result of the incident, which happened at around 7pm.”

Two years ago, Mr Falconer, the owner of the Shempston Estate, auctioned an adventure flight in the 1942 warplane in aid of the Help for Heroes charity, and actor Kevin Kidd, one of the stars of Brave, was a recent passenger in the aircraft.

The four-cylinder Tiger Moth was built by Morris Motors in Cowley, Oxfordshire. It was one of two that crashed on Sunday.

The pilot walked away un­injured from the wreckage of his biplane after it clipped a tree and crash-landed in a Denbighshire field.