'Fuel Starvation' Likely Cause Of Plane Crash That Killed RAF Pilot

Flight Lieutenant Alex Parr died when his civilian plane crashed during an emergency landing in July 2016 (Picture: MOD).

The engine failure which caused a plane to crash killing was most likely the result of fuel starvation, an inquest heard.

Flight Lieutenant Alex Parr, 40, died when the Yak-52 crashed during an emergency landing close to Dinton airfield in Wiltshire in July 2016.

The inquest in Salisbury, Wiltshire, has previously heard civilian pilot John Calverley, 62, who was commanding the flight, say that he believed the engine failure was caused by fuel starvation.

Experts from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) carried out extensive testing of the engine but could not conclusively establish what caused the loss of power.

Mr Calverley was taking Fl Lt Parr, a tutor at the Empire Test Pilots' School at Boscombe Down, on a demonstration flight of the Soviet Union-designed aerobatic plane when the incident happened.

The inquest heard that Fl Lt Parr, who was sitting in the front seat of the two-seater plane, was thrown clear after impact when his safety belt mechanism failed.

He was declared dead at the scene and a post-mortem examination concluded he died from multiple traumatic injuries.

The hearing has heard that RAF crew who were on the test pilots' course had noticed problems with the "unserviceability" of some of the instruments of the Yak-52 days before the fatal crash but had not reported it to their superiors.

The test pilot school - the oldest in the world - was run by Qinetiq on behalf of the Ministry of Defence and had sub-contracted the supply of the Yak-52 to Command Pilot Training.

That firm contracted Mr Calverley to supply and pilot the Yak-52 and he hired it from owner Martin Gadsby.

The hearing heard that since Fl Lt Parr's death changes have been made in the way contracts are managed and Qinetiq now contracts privately-owned planes and pilots directly rather than sub-contracting.

And following the fatal crash the Yak-52 has been removed from the test pilots' course syllabus.

The inquest was adjourned.