Man dead and three injured after flight school helicopter crashes into field near Doncaster
A 70-year-old man has died after a helicopter crashed into a field near Doncaster, South Yorkshire Police said.
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The pilot of the aircraft, a 41-year-old man, and two other passengers, a 10-year-old boy and 58-year-old woman, suffered only minor injuries following the incident in Bentley on Thursday morning.
A joint investigation has been launched by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) and South Yorkshire Police into the cause of the crash.
Detective Chief Inspector Gary Magnay, silver commander, said: "Our thoughts are with the family and loved ones of the man who sadly died in this tragic incident.
"We and our emergency services colleagues remain at the scene and we have launched a full joint investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident in parallel with the AAIB.
"As part of our investigation, we'd ask for anyone with information to get in touch. If you were in the area at the time and saw the events unfold, please contact us. We are particularly keen to hear from those with footage of the helicopter leading up to the crash."
The helicopter is understood to be a Robinson R44 Raven II, a four-seat light helicopter that was on a private flight which is understood to have taken off from Gamston Airport near Retford at around 10am.
The helicopter’s identifier number indicates it was being operated by a flight school Kuki Helicopters which operates out of Gamston airport, Retford.
The aircraft crashed down in a field near an industrial site minutes after take-off.
A spokesman for the airport said: “We can confirm an aircraft based here operated by an onsite tenant has been involved in an incident. We've no further information at this time.”