Pilot dies in light aircraft crash near airfield in Devon

A pilot has died after her light aircraft crashed near Dunkeswell airfield in Devon.

The woman in her 40s was flying alone when the plane crashed on Friday morning.

Police said emergency services attended just after 10am, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

The plane reportedly crashed on a farm and the Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has sent a team to the site.

Superintendent Jo Arundale, from Devon and Cornwall Police, said: "We will be working closely with the Air Accident Investigation Branch to thoroughly investigate the circumstances surrounding the crash this morning.

"We recognise it is a very sad incident and we are appealing to the public not to speculate regarding the crash.

"Furthermore, we would like to ask anybody who may have relevant footage to get in touch with us and not to post it online.

"Our thoughts are with the friends and family of the person involved."

Dunkeswell Airfield is in the Blackdown hills, about 14 miles northeast of Exeter, and was a US naval base in the Second World War.

At 839ft (255m) above sea level, it says it's the highest licensed airfield in the country.

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