Police find body in search for pilot who ‘left suicide note’ before ‘dive-bombing’ light aircraft into reservoir
Police found a body while searching for the pilot who was said to have left a suicide note before dive-bombing his light plane into the reservoir.
Essex Police were first called to the scene of the ‘serious incident’ at Hanningfield Reservoir between Chelmsford and Billericay shortly after 2pm on Sunday.
The private aircraft, a Beagle B121 Pup, had departed North Weald Airport just before 12:00 that day.
Police confirmed the body of a man was found by divers on Tuesday afternoon. He is believed to be the only occupant of the plane.
Police sources previously said Sun He said notes were found that suggested the pilot was planning to take his own life.
Data from FlightRadar24 suggested that the plane made a rapid descent and lost altitude by approximately 1,800 feet a few seconds before the final tracking signal was received.
The data shows that the total flight time was one hour and 23 minutes, during which the pilot circled the reservoir several times before crashing.
Authorities said that there was no suspicious situation and that the file was prepared for the coroner.
Essex Police were first called to the scene of the ‘serious incident’ at Hanningfield Reservoir between Chelmsford and Billericay shortly after 2pm on Sunday (pictured)
Essex and Suffolk Water said the incident had not affected water supplies to customers.
Superintendent Waheed Khan said: ‘Firstly I would like to point out that someone has lost his life in tragic circumstances. Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this incident.
‘Efforts to formally identify this man will be carried out sensitively with HM Coroner and it is not right for us to officially confirm his identity until this procedure has been followed.
‘My officers, divers with support from the AAIB and the Metropolitan Police Service continued to search the reservoir following the activity until late on Monday evening, 29 December.
‘Our investigations identified the specific area where we believe the aircraft entered the water and teams regularly scanned the reservoir bottom using underwater sonar equipment.
‘This resulted in the discovery of debris and, most importantly, a body.
‘We believe this is the body of the only person on board and therefore our search has ended.
‘As a result of the ongoing investigation work, we will prepare a file for the coroner.
Flowers at the scene were photographed. Police rushed to the waterhole just after 2pm on Sunday.
People were urged to stay away from the scene while police officers investigated the crash (Image: a police vehicle at the entrance to the reservoir)
‘Responsibility for the reservoir and any other necessary remediation work will be handed back to the site owners.
‘I would like to thank everyone for their patience while we carried out this search. ‘This was an extremely detailed study carried out by experts from multiple institutions.’
The aircraft was offered for sale on Just Plane Trading Ltd at the time for around £55,000.
The list stated that the plane was ‘perfect in every respect’ and ‘a pleasure to fly’.
It said: ‘You’ll be very lucky to find another one as good as this one.’
A spokesman for Essex and Suffolk Water added: ‘Essex and Suffolk water teams carefully manage the reservoir to ensure water quality and ecology are maintained.’
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