Fatal Aircraft Crash on Outskirts of Wrexham / Chester

9:13pm: A short while ago a light aircraft crashed near the English/Welsh border this evening, sadly with reports of two fatalities. One of our reporters is en route to Chapel Lane, Saighton where the incident took place.

UPDATE 10:45pm:
The light aircraft, incorrectly reported locally to be a ‘glider’, crashed to the north east of Wrexham just outside of Alford.

The crash site is located by the eastern / waverton approach to the Grosvenor estate, home of the Duke of Westminster, just off Chapel Lane near the hamlet of Bruera .

When we arrived on the scene, several emergency vehicles were parked outside the local church including one fire engine and several police and medical cars.

Currently a recovery operation is underway with the scene illuminated by emergency vehicles, as pictured in the distance.

Police say the plane was reported ‘missing’ at 20:55 this evening and a police helicopter spotted the wreckage. They went on to say “Two fire engines from Chester went to the scene and on arrival crews found a two-seater plane had crashed into a field. Police and paramedics were also on the scene and firefighters assisted them in gaining access to the aircraft which contained two men.”

Cheshire Police also told us Air Accident Investigation Branch have been informed.

UPDATE 00:45
The plane involved is a Piper PA-38 Tomahawk. The plane is two seater and often used for training purposes with a cruising speed of 103 mph. Local flying schools around Chester & Liverpool all have fleets of this type of aircraft for day & night training purposes.

A Piper PA-38 Tomahawk – an example of the make/model not the one involved.

On Sunday another aircraft crashed near Wrexham, this time to the west – you can read our story here.