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| Plane passenger 'jumped to his death' Police are keeping an "open mind" about the death of a man who plunged 5,000ft to his death after apparently jumping from a light aircraft. The man, in his 40s, was the passenger of a Cessna 172 two-seater which was about to make an emergency landing at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire. A post mortem of the man, who has yet to be formally identified, is expected to be opened and adjourned soon at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. Investigators from the Civil Aviation Authority are also due to examine the light aircraft. A CAA spokesman said: "Permission was given for the plane to land at RAF Brize Norton and it did so safely. "However the pilot reported that about 10 nautical miles from its destination, the passenger opened the door and jumped out." Detectives were on Tuesday evening questioning the female pilot, who was said to be "extremely shocked". 'Panicked' Superintendent Liam Macdougall, of Thames Valley Police, said: "The circumstances surrounding the incident are unclear and there is a full-scale investigation under way." Mr Macdougall said it was too early to comment on reports that the passenger may have deliberately jumped from the aircraft, and officers were "keeping an open mind" until their investigations had been completed. A Civil Aviation Authority spokesman said the man may have panicked - thinking the plane was going to crash - and decided to take his chances by jumping. Ice on wings Police said the pilot and passenger of the privately-owned plane were not related, but were both British nationals. The plane had been en-route to Hinton-in-the-Hedges, Northamptonshire, from France. But the pilot asked for permission to divert from its route due to ice on the wings, at about 1530 GMT on Tuesday. The man's body was found on a football pitch in the village of Fifield in west Oxfordshire, by a Thames Valley Police Force helicopter which was alerted to the incident by air traffic control. Ministry of Defence police and a Civil Aviation Authority investigator are conducting their own inquiries. 9th January 2002 |
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