Goodwood plane crash: Petworth and Gosport men died 'doing their absolute passion'

Sixty-five-year-old Stephen Kendall, from Balls Cross near Petworth and 58-year-old Ian Wyatt from Alverstoke in Gosport both died on June 30, 2021, from serious head and chest injuries when the Rogers Sky Prince light aircraft they were flying crashed shortly after taking off.

A number of nearby roads were closed following the crash as police, the air ambulance and West Sussex Fire attended the scene.

The Air Accident Investigation Branch ruled that the crash was most likely due to difficulties which followed a partial loss of power, the inquest was told.

The inquest, held in Horsham, heard how Stephen had sold the plane to his flying club, Sport Air which was based at Goodwood, and Ian had come to meet Stephen to enquire about buying the plane from the club.

Stephen’s widow, Sandra Kendell told the inquest how Stephen had 30 years light aircraft experience and had a medical examination every year.

She said: “He lived for flying. On a day off from work it was normal for him to spend a day at Goodwood.”

Sally Wyatt, Ian’s widow, said Ian was an ex-Royal Marine and spent time in the special forces. He had been flying since the age of 16 when he was just a cadet.

She said Ian had been excited about his trip to Goodwood to see the plane which he had hoped to buy.

Ian, described as ‘very safety conscious’ and ‘very meticulous’, had sent Sally a text moments before the tragedy to say ‘all good here — we are just going up’.

At yesterday’s inquest, which examined the events of the tragic day, reports from witnesses were read out to the coroner and to the families.

It included one from David Black who was working at Goodwood and watched the plane take off taking his break. The inquest was told that he heard problems coming from the plane’s engine before it fell silent.

He said: "I knew at this point that there was something wrong. It was at this point that it was obvious that the plane was going to crash.”

Once the plane had crashed, David said: “I saw instantly the glow of flames and saw smoke rise above the trees. I was quite shaken up about what I had seen on that day.”

Another witness Peter Ball had been sitting outside the Royal Oak pub when he saw the plane struggling and after watching it tilt to its left, the plan disappeared behind some trees.

The next thing Mr Ball saw was black smoke billowing from where the plane had crashed.

His statement read: "I was sat outside the Royal Oak pub at approximately 16.30 when I saw a little plane. The plane tilted to the left and disappeared behind the trees. I could then see black smoke and couldn’t see any flames.”

AAIB senior inspectors Alison Campbell and Robert Balls told the coroner and the families of the men they could not be certain which of the two men was flying the plane.

They added that the plane had suffered a ‘partial power loss’ during the short flight which became more severe as the plane reached 300ft.

The family of Mr Wyatt asked the investigators if there was any doubt about who was flying the plane.

Alison Campbell responded that ‘it was not possible to be definitive’.

She said: "I think having spoken to people who knew both Ian and Stephen, it is very likely that Stephen was flying. But it is not possible to be definitive.”

The coroner, Ms Penelope Schofield, concluded that the two men had died as a result of ‘misadventure’ when the plane crashed.

Ms Schofield said: "It is very clear that both men died doing something that was their absolute passion. It is just so tragic that they met their deaths in the situation that arose.”

In September 2021 a similar crash happened at Teesside International Airport, the AAIB investigators said, where a similar type of aircraft also suffered a partial loss of power resulting in a crash which left the plane’s three passengers with severe injuries.

As a result of the close proximity of the crashes, the AAIB made three recommendations to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).