Five people killed in Coventry mid-air crash named

Three men and two women were killed when a Cessna 402 collided with a home-built light aircraft in Brinklow, Warwickshire, on Sunday.

Police named the four Cessna occupants as Harvey Antrobus, 28, from Fillongley, Warwickshire, James Beagley, 34, from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, Sybille Gautrey, 33, from Towcester, Northamptonshire, and Sophie Hastings, 28, from Swadlincote, Derbyshire.

Wreckage: Parts of a plane litter the ground at the crash site near Coventry

The pilot of the kit-built Rand KR-2 was confirmed as Brian Normington, of Blackdown, near Leamington Spa, Warwickshire.

The names were released as tributes to the victims were paid by friends and family.

Mr Normington, a pensioner who had been flying the plane for almost two decades, is understood to have been a long-standing member of a Coventry-based flying club.

He was described by a friend as a 'highly regarded pilot' with hundreds of hours flying experience.

Brendan Neary belonged to the same flying group - Armstrong Whitworth in Coventry - as Mr Normington, a retired engineer, thought to have been 70 years old.

Mr Neary said: 'He was just a really good bloke. He will be very seriously missed by all his flying friends and colleagues.

'He had a great sense of humour and people always found themselves in a bit of banter with him.

'He was a skilled, keen pilot, and prepared to help other people in the club.

'He was a really generous bloke. He was very keen always to help other airplane builders.'

He said that Mr Normington had built two planes, one which he designed and the KR-2.

It is thought that he had been flying the KR-2 for almost two decades.

Mr Neary said: 'Brian was a highly experienced pilot, with more (flying) hours than most people get in their amateur flying lives.'