Two pilots who died when their light aircraft crashed to the ground in North Yorkshire on Saturday have been named by local police as trainee RAF pilots Ajvir Singh Sandhu, 25, from Essex and Cameron James Forster, 21, from Sussex.
North Yorkshire Police identified the pair two days after they crashed into a remote field in Ryedale, near Castle Howard, in a tragedy that is being probed by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch.
Mr Sandhu, who graduated with a first class degree and masters in Geoscience from Durham University, was selected from 3,000 cadets to accompany the Lord Lieutenant of London on royal duties throughout 2010.
While at Durham he was a member of the Northumbria Universities Air Squadron, an RAF Volunteer Reserve unit, and was named best all-round cadet during officer training at RAF College Cranwell. He started his training to be a RAF pilot in the summer of 2014. He had grown up in Ilford with his father Amrik, mother Narinderjit and younger sister Sabinder, who also studied at Durham.
Friends this week said that it had been the former Ilford County High School pupil’s dream since childhood to fly for the RAF, and he had made his father, a senior City executive, “incredibly proud.”
Grant Slater, 48, his pastoral tutor at the college of St Hild and St Bede at Durham, said: “He was a lovely young man. It was a privilege to know him, and we are extremely proud of him. I meet a lot of young people and he was something special. You will hear the same thing from anyone who knew him, he was a brilliant young man.
“We knew he was going to be something special, to see him go like this is just completely heartbreaking. It’s a tragedy for him, his family and everyone who loved him. He told me during fresher’s week he wanted to be a pilot in the RAF and he had gone on to fulfill that dream. He was incredibly committed to what he wanted to do and worked incredibly hard for it. For him to die so young and so early in his career is hard to take.
“He had a very close group of friends and was incredibly loyal to them and it’s going to be a difficult time for everyone who knew him. I met his family, they were so incredibly proud of him, and they will be devastated.”
Friend Lee Toomey wrote on Facebook: “Ajvir, you were inspirational. You were one of the most compassionate, determined and focused human beings that I ever had the pleasure to share time with.”
Mr Sandhu and Mr Forster were the only people on board the aircraft, which crashed off Mains Lane, in Ryedale, on Saturday. Paramedics declared them dead at the scene.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch has launched an inquiry.
Meanwhile RAF Linton-on-Ouse station commander Ian Laing paid tribute to the "exceptionally talented" men. He said: "They were both exceptionally talented young men in the prime of their lives. The thoughts of everyone at RAF Linton-on-Ouse are with their family and friends at this difficult time".
Members of a local aircraft spotters group also offered their condolences.
One said: "May your families and loved ones find comfort in the knowledge that you are no longer in pain and the Good Lord will watch over you guarding and guiding you in these sad times. Deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathies to those left behind."
Another added: "Sad news, seen the photos and can only hope it was instant for them. RIP sad loss for the local area."
A photo on Mr Sandhu's Facebook page shows the young pilot performing an aerial stunt in a small aircraft. His profile also includes a photo album entitled 'Flying' with pictures of various aircraft.
Speaking at the scene on Saturday, Superintendent Mark Grange, of North Yorkshire Police, said the plane landed more than 200m away from the nearest houses and looked like it had come "straight down". He said: "It looks like an aircraft, with two wings and a tail fin where it should be. It's in a bad way and it's obviously come down heavily. It's sat on its underside so it has not flipped. Whether they tried to land like that I don't know. I cannot say where they were going and what they were doing in the air.”
