AN aircraft which took off from Wycombe Air Park crashed in woods at Flackwell Heath killing its pilot.

The elderly pilot, who has not been named, took off from the air park in Booker at 4.30pm on Friday to fly to Rochester in Kent.

But when the Cessna 182 failed to arrive at its destination RAF and police helicopters, as well as police dogs, were called in to search for the aircraft.

The wreckage of the plane was found at 10am on Saturday morning.

An RAF rescue helicopter spotted the tangled wreck of the plane shortly after 10am on Saturday in Horton Wood, near Heath End Road, Flackwell Heath, less than three miles from where it took off.

Captain Tim Orchard, managing director of the company that runs Wycombe Air Park, said the plane was not based at the airfield.

He said: "He [the victim] arrived here in normal fashion and we know he had a radio because he said goodbye to us in normal fashion. That is all we know.

"When you are flying small aircraft you do not need to tell anyone who you are and where you are going. He did not fuel up here."

Detective Inspector Richard List, of High Wycombe Police, said: "Usually with an aircraft crash we would expect members of the public to ring in. Usually people hear or see something."

The plane came down in remote woodland and police hope witnesses will come forward who may have seen the plane in trouble shortly before it crashed.

DI List added: "The wreckage is spread over quite a large area.

"We were called by RAF Lossiemouth, in Scotland [who keep air traffic information] and we began a thorough search of the area. We located the wreckage quite quickly."

Fire services were called to the scene as a precaution.

DI List said: "The Fire Brigade was there initially to prevent any fire. There was an awful lot of aviation fuel."

Aircraft continued to take off and land overhead as investigators carried out their worked at the crash site.

Police and fire services were joined at the scene by Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) officers who will carry out a joint investigation with Thames Valley Police.

Investigators spent the weekend cataloguing and removing the wreckage from the crash site.

A spokesman for the AAIB said: "The investigators will take as long as they need to take to find out what caused the crash.

"It will take a few months at least. We may find what we are looking for on site but if necessary they will take the wreckage back to the hangar in Farnborough to rebuild it."

An eyewitness, who saw the police search on Saturday morning, said: "They had everything down here. Ambulances, fire engines and there was a helicopter landed as well."

This accident follows superbike champion Steve Hislop's death last week when his helicopter came down in the Scottish borders. It had taken off from Wycombe Air Park.

Anyone with information should call 08458 505 505