Bradda Head plane crash 'likely to have been deliberate'

A four-day search operation took place in the area of Bradda Head in July

A plane that crashed into a cliff on the Isle of Man was likely to have been brought down deliberately by the pilot, an accident report has concluded.

Pilot Karl Bettoney died when his light aircraft crashed into the cliffside at Bradda Head in Port Erin on 17 July.

A probe by the Air Accident Investigations Branch (AAIB) found the 64-year-old had placed the plane "on a collision course with the cliff".

Calls made by the pilot had indicated "he did not intend to return", it said.

An inquest into Mr Bettoney's death, which was opened and adjourned in August, found the Laxey resident died from injuries caused by blast and impact trauma.

No technical faults

The AAIB report said, after taking off from Ronaldsway Airport at about 11:30 BST, the pilot had flown "up and down the coast several times" before taking a left turn and flying in to the rocky cliff face.

No technical issues were found with the aircraft, and analysis of the flight path captured by radar and CCTV footage in Port Erin suggested it was "under control" immediately before the crash, the report said.

The investigation found Mr Bettoney had been diagnosed with sleep issues and anxiety, and had been prescribed drugs to try and alleviate the symptoms, but had not informed his Aeromedical Examiner, who would have suspended his medical certificate for flying had he done so.

The pilot had made several phone calls to a family member during the flight, which "indicated that he did not intend to return", the report said.

The AAIB report concluded the plane had been "flown directly towards Bradda Head below the level of the clifftop".

"The investigation found no evidence of any technical faults that would have prevented the pilot from manoeuvring to avoid the cliff, and it is likely that the accident was a deliberate act," it added.

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