People killed in mid-air crash named

Five people killed in a mid-air crash have been named by police.

Three men and two women were killed when a Cessna 402 collided with a home-built light aircraft in Brinklow, Warwickshire, on Sunday.

Police named the four Cessna occupants as Harvey Antrobus, 28, from Fillongley, Warwickshire, James Beagley, 34, from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, Sybille Gautrey, 33, from Towcester, Northamptonshire, and Sophie Hastings, 28, from Swadlincote, Derbyshire.

The pilot of the kit-built Rand KR-2 was confirmed as Brian Normington, of Blackdown, near Leamington Spa, Warwickshire.

The names were released as tributes to the victims were paid by friends and family.

Mr Normington, a pensioner who had been flying the plane for almost two decades, is understood to have been a long-standing member of a Coventry-based flying club.

He was described by a friend as a "highly regarded pilot" with hundreds of hours flying experience.

Brendan Neary belonged to the same flying group - Armstrong Whitworth in Coventry - as Mr Normington, a retired engineer, thought to have been 70-years-old.

Mr Neary said: "He was just a really good bloke. He will be very seriously missed by all his flying friends and colleagues."

He said that Mr Normington had built two planes, one which he designed and the KR-2.

Mr Neary said: "Brian was a highly experienced pilot, with more (flying) hours than most people get in their amateur flying lives."

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