AN INVESTIGATION has been launched into the crash of a small plane in Co Down on Friday night which killed the pilot and two passengers.
The three victims were Hugh McKnight, a 54-year-old retired police officer who piloted the craft, and passengers Steven Annett and Andrew Burden, both aged 24. All were from Annalong, Co Down.
They were returning from the Isle of Man TT races around 9pm on Friday night when the light aircraft crashed into a field near Kilkeel.
Mr McKnight is understood to have been attempting to land the plane in a nearby private airstrip when the accident occurred.
Visibility was said to have been poor at the time with fog setting in as he was coming close to land. Local people said that weather conditions took a turn for the worse as Mr McKnight was coming near the airstrip.
The rescue services were immediately alerted when the plane crashed and burst into flames. Some local people rushed to the scene but were unable to do anything for the three victims.
The leader of the Traditional Unionist Voice party Jim Allister said that Mr McKnight was a member of his party and represented the TUV at the count centre at Annalong primary school on polling day.
“I am deeply saddened by the tragic passing of Mr McKnight.
“My thoughts and prayers are with his family at this sad time,” said Mr Allister.
Local councillor Henry Reilly said that while the flying of light aircraft generally was safe there had been three such crashes in the Kilkeel area within the last year.
Two weeks ago two men were injured in a plane crash near Kilkeel.
An investigation team from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch at Farnborough in England arrived at the crash scene on Saturday to try to establish what caused the accident.
Local Presbyterian minister, the Rev Stuart Finlay, said the entire community in Kilkeel and Annalong was numbed by the accident.
He said Mr McKnight had a great interest in motorbikes which then developed into an interest in flying.
He said that during the week the pilot, who had been flying for over 10 years, had taken a number of people to the TT races in the Isle of Man.
The three friends who died were members of the local congregations of the Presbyterian church in Annalong and Kilkeel.
Prayers were said for the three in local churches yesterday.
South Down Ulster Unionist Assembly member John McAllister said weather conditions had deteriorated badly about the time of the accident.
Offering sympathy to the relatives of the three men, he said it was imperative that investigators discovered what went wrong.
The SDLP Minister for Social Development Margaret Ritchie said people in the Mournes were “deeply shocked and devastated” by the accident.
“I hope that the investigation by the air safety authority will be comprehensive and provide much needed answers to the families at this tragic time,” she said.
Alliance MLA Kieran McCarthy said people were stunned by the accident, particularly as the crash had come after a number of similar incidents.
“Given the number of light aircraft crashes recently, the public will want stringent safety reviews carried out.
“The loss of one life let alone three is horrific and every effort must be made to ensure the highest possible safety standards,” he said.
