Two die after light aircraft collide

LONDON - Two people died when their light aircraft crashed in central England on Sunday after a mid-air collision with another small plane, crash investigators and police said.

The victims' two-seater Luscombe Silvaire plane came down in a fireball in a rural part of Staffordshire, while the second light aircraft made an emergency landing at East Midlands Airport.

Paramedics found the bodies of two people at the scene of the crash near the village of Admaston, about 20 miles north of Birmingham.

The owner of the farmland where the plane crashed said he drove to the scene, but could do nothing to help.

"The plane was burning but almost burned out," Michael Sargeant told the BBC. "I could see bodies there but I could see there was nothing I could do. I came straight back and rang 999."

Television pictures showed the plane smashed into several pieces in a field.

Air crash investigators said it was too early to say why the planes collided. A full inquiry will resume at daybreak.

East Midlands Airport said its runway was briefly blocked and traffic was diverted.

The names of the victims will not be released before their families are informed.