A REPORT into a North Yorkshire plane crash has questioned the pilot’s choice to ditch the aircraft into a river.

The crash happened on October 30, 2010, when the aircraft, owned by Sherburn Aero Club, crashed into the River Derwent near the village of Aughton, near Bubwith, with the pilot and one passenger on board.

A report by the Air Accident Investigation Branch said the 28-year-old pilot, who had 289 hours flying experience, had been performing aerobatics at about 2,500 ft, then decided to practise a forced landing, but the engine failed at about 1,000 ft.

The report questioned the pilot’s claim that he was too high to make a forced landing in the field he initially chose, and said: “The pilot described being forced to overshoot his intended field in favour of the next field, beyond the river. There would presumably have needed to be some positive manoeuvring in order to align the aircraft’s track with the river, which would appear inconsistent with being unable to reach the field immediately beyond.”

The pilot and passenger both escaped the plane after the crash, “wet but uninjured”.