RAF test pilot Alex Parr killed by engine failure crash

Royal Air Force test pilot Alexandre Jay Parr died at the scene after the plane came down in a field close to Dinton

An experienced RAF test pilot was killed during a flight when his plane suffered engine failure, an inquest has heard.

Flt Lt Alex Parr died when the Yak-52 civilian aircraft crashed during an emergency landing close to Dinton airfield in Wiltshire, in July 2016.

The inquest, which is being heard in Salisbury, was told Mr Parr, 40, was piloting the plane.

He was accompanied by a safety pilot when the accident happened.

A jury heard the private, two-seater Yak-52 was used in instruction flights to train elite pilots to become test pilots and instructors.

Wiltshire and Swindon Coroner David Ridley told the jury at the start of proceedings that the plane had broken flight instruments and one of the issues they would have to consider was whether this contributed to the crash.

'Perfectionist'

Flt Lt Parr lived in Marlborough and was married with three children.

He had been a pilot for 20 years and worked at the Empire Test Pilots' School at nearby Boscombe Down, the inquest heard.

Flt Lt Parr's widow, Dr Alice Parr, told the inquest in a written statement that her husband had joined the RAF as a teenager.

"Alex had been a pilot for over 20 years and was an experienced pilot who flew every week," Dr Parr, a GP, said.

"As a test pilot it was his role to put new and modified aircraft through manoeuvres designed to test them for strains on the aircraft and to ensure they performed correctly.

"Alex was always aware of safety. He was methodical and if he recognised there was a problem with an aircraft he would not fly.

"He was a perfectionist and got frustrated when others weren't and he had a strong sense of right and wrong.

"He was passionate about flying and loved it," she said.

The inquest continues.