Waddesdon air crash: Fatal collision 'seemed surreal'

From left: Jaspal Singh Bahra, Saavan Singh Mundae, Mike Green and Nguyen Thanh Trung all died in the collision

A crash between a helicopter and a plane which killed four people "seemed surreal", an inquest has heard.

The mid-air crash happened near Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire on 17 November 2017.

Jaspal Bahra, 27, Saavan Mundae, 18, Capt Mike Green, 74, and Nguyen Thanh Trung, 32, all died in the collision.

In a statement read to Beaconsfield Coroner's Court a witness said she "stood there gobsmacked" as the two aircraft "dropped out of sight".

Both aircraft had taken off from Wycombe Park Airfield at about 11:45 GMT.

Capt Green, of Long Lane, Newbury, was in the helicopter giving a lesson to Vietnamese military officer Capt Trung.

The inquest heard Mr Bahra, a flight instructor from Wembley, was giving a lesson to Mr Mundae, a student from Richmond, in a Cessna 152.

The wreckage of both aircraft was found in Wilderness Wood near Waddesdon Manor

Pauline Sturgeon was with a walking group when the crash happened.

"I looked up into the sky. I saw two aircraft come together," she said.

"They dropped together and dropped out of my sight. I stood there gobsmacked. It was all unreal.

Ms Sturgeon said she thought "it was just aerobatics".

The mid-air crash happened near the Grade-I listed building in Buckinghamshire

The jury heard Capt Nguyen and Capt Green were thrown from the helicopter while Mr Bahra and Mr Mundae were found in the Cessna.

Pathologist Dr Alexander Kolar said the four men died of multiple injuries.

He told the jury there were levels of 24% carbon monoxide in the body of Mr Bahra - a normal level would be 3%.

Referring to the carbon monoxide levels, Det Con Tom Digby said after watching CCTV footage of Mr Bahra there was "nothing to suggest [he] was out of control".

The inquest continues.