The cause of a plane crash at an east Suffolk country estate which saw the aircraft nose over has been uncovered.
The plane, a Grumman FM2 Wildcat, was being flown by an experienced pilot of vintage aircraft when it crashed during a private event at Heveningham Hall, near Halesworth, on Thursday, July 6 last year.
Emergency services were called to reports of an aircraft crashing at about 5.10pm.
Fire crews from Harleston, Princes Street, Ipswich, Framlingham, and Lowestoft South stations attended the scene and remained there until a 'stop' was called at about 7pm.
Several ambulances were also seen in the area.
During the landing on a grass runway, the aircraft nosed over and landed inverted.
The pilot was left seriously injured and airlifted to Ipswich Hospital for treatment.
An investigation was launched by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) to find the cause of the incident.
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According to the pilot, the aircraft's tail continued to ride as he came into landing which he tried to counter but could not stop as the incident happened quickly.
He was airlifted to hospital with serious injures.
The AAIB believes the crash was caused due to a solid crust on top of a softer sub-soil that the aircraft dug into which caused it to nose over.
The crash came just days before the Heveningham Hall Country Fair was due to take place, with the event going ahead as planned - attracting 10,000 visitors to the estate over the weekend.
Among the attendees was the pilot involved in the crash, who had recovered enough to be able to make it in person.
The AAIB said the event organisers are planning to implement additional operational coordination and risk management measures for future events in a bid to avoid a similar crash happening.
The Heveningham Hall Country Fair is scheduled to take place again this coming weekend.
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