Plane crashed in Kinglassie village field after cockpit door burst open mid-flight in Fife, AAIB find

An airplane crashed into a field in Fife after its cockpit door burst open mid-air, an investigation into the incident has found.

Emergency services were called to a field near Kinglassie, around two miles south west of Glenrothes, just before 11am on August 1.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) investigators heard that the 70-year-old pilot heard “an almighty bang and a blast of air struck him, blowing off his headset”.

He experienced “significant handling difficulties”, however survived the crash with very minor injuries.

The pilot concluded that the most likely cause of the cockpit opening mid-flight was an object stuck in its latch mechanism when it was first closed for flight – leaving it unsecured.

A witness saw the plane 'do a somersault' before crashing. — A witness saw the plane ‘do a somersault’ before crashing. Fife Jammer locations via Supplied

David McKay, of car delivery business Fife Vehicle Transport, was driving to work when he saw the small aircraft do a “somersault” before crashing into a field north of the village.

He told STV News said: “I said to the boys, ‘there’s been a plane crash in front of us’ – and none of them had even noticed.

“I’ve got a jeep and a trailer, so we drove up to help. When I got there, it was just one pilot. He was a bit shaken but he was okay.

“He told me the cockpit opened mid-air, so he tried to shut it and that’s how he crashed.

“It turns out he was just on his way to work. He is very lucky to be alive to be honest. It’s a scary one.”