London: An inquest on Wednesday identified an Indian-origin couple in their 50s as the two victims who died on the spot after their light aircraft crashed at a remote location in northern Wales.
Ketan Swali is believed to have been the pilot of the Piper PA28 aircraft and was accompanied by his wife, Sheetal, as they took off from Tatenhill Airport in Burton-upon-Trent in the West Midlands region of England last week.
North Wales Police said air and ground searches were launched on Friday after they were informed that the plane had failed to land at Caernarfon Airport in Snowdonia, north-west Wales, as scheduled.
“Multi-agency air and ground searches were carried out, and the aircraft was found in a remote location near Trawsfynydd,” said a North Wales Police spokesperson.
“The two people on board were sadly pronounced deceased at the scene. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) have been made aware of the incident and has deployed a team of investigators,” the spokesperson said.
The crash site was located in an isolated area in the hills above Trawsfynydd, close to Blaenau Ffestiniog in Gwynedd.
“Our thoughts are with the families and friends of those involved in this tragic incident,” said Chief Superintendent Owain Llewellyn of North Wales Police.
“We will support the AAIB with their investigation to ensure the circumstances leading to this incident are fully understood.
“This has been a challenging search operation, and I am grateful to all of the agencies involved for their professionalism and dedication,” he said.
Assistant Coroner Sarah Riley adjourned the inquest into the deaths as the investigation into the circumstances of the crash remains ongoing. She confirmed that a pathologist had identified a provisional cause of death for the couple as “major impact trauma”.
According to online company-related data, Ketan Swali was a Leicester-based director at engineering firm Arc Euro Trade Ltd and had wound up the manufacturing business earlier this year.
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