Two People Killed In Light Aircraft Crash

Two men have been killed in a light aircraft crash in North Yorkshire.

The plane came down in fields in the Ryedale area between Castle Howard and the A64 at around 10.40am.

Police confirmed the two men who died were the pilot and a passenger.

Up to 20 firefighters were called in, placing a foam blanket around the fuselage in case it caught fire.

Superintendent Mark Grange, of North Yorkshire Police, said the plane landed more than 200 metres away from the nearest houses, and was still mostly intact.

"It looks like it came straight down," he said. "It's in a bad way and it's obviously come down heavily. It's sat on its underside so it has not flipped.

"Whether they tried to land like that I don't know. I cannot say where they were going and what they were doing in the air."

"The fire service attended the scene just to make sure the area is safe because of worries about the amount of fuel."

Mr Grange said the families of the two men on board were being traced.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "We have sent three appliances and one incident support unit with its own appliance."

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch has been informed.