Family Pay Tribute To Salford Crash Pilot

1 August 2011, 12:04 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

The family of an experienced pilot whose plane crashed in Salford say he was 'passionate' about his interests.

59 year old Ian Daglish from Alderley Edge in Cheshire, suffered severe burns after his light aircraft plummeted to the ground between two semi-detached houses shortly after take-off and burst into flames.

He was taken to hospital for treatment but died. A 19-year-old man, who was a passenger in the plane, remains in a critical condition after suffering 60% burns.

Mr Daglish was a military historian and wrote a series of books about Second World War battles, such as Goodwood: The British Offensive In Normandy, July 1944. He described himself on his website as a 'battlefield mythbuster'.

The single-engine Piper PA38 Tomahawk aircraft left City Airport Manchester at 12.20pm on Friday, flying only a short distance before coming down and hitting the two homes in Newlands Avenue in Eccles, Salford.

Extensive structural damage was caused to one of the properties, but no-one apart from the occupants of the aircraft, operated by Ravenair Flying School, was injured.

In a statement, Mr Daglish's family said he was an experienced pilot of many years, adding:

'Ian was, first and foremost, a family man - an extremely proud father of two teenage daughters, Hazel and Fiona, and devoted husband of Joy to whom he had been married for 26 years. He has one brother, Andrew.

'Ian and Joy moved to Alderley Edge in 1988 and have since established themselves firmly in the village. Ian was an active member of the community and was particularly interested in the history and conservation of the area.'

A statement on the flying school's website said:

'It is with deep regret that we have been advised of the tragic loss of life of one of the persons involved in Friday's aircraft accident. We are co-operating fully with the AAIB investigation that is under way.'

A spokeswoman for City Airport said the Civil Aviation Authority and the Department of Transport's Air Accident Investigation Branch had been informed.