A PILOT killed in a plane crash is believed to have ignored weather reports and succumbed to get-there-itis , according to a UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report. David Boon, 47, of Chepstow Close in Stevenage, had been flying a light airc

A PILOT killed in a plane crash is believed to have ignored weather reports and "succumbed to get-there-itis", according to a UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report.

David Boon, 47, of Chepstow Close in Stevenage, had been flying a light aircraft from Panshanger Aerodrome to Jersey when the plane crashed into woodland at Steep, near Petersfield in Hampshire.

Passenger Carol Ann Potter, 49, from Peterborough, was also killed when the four-seater plane came down in poor weather conditions on April 10 last year.

The investigation report from the AAIB, published yesterday (Thursday), states: "It is likely the pilot succumbed to 'get-there-itis' in making his decision to take off."

The weather forecast was poor, predicting some heavy rain and thunderstorms.

Mr Boon, a father-of-three, told an instructor two days before the flight that the forecast would probably preclude the flight.

He told another pilot he had about 30 hours of instrument training towards his Instrument Meteorological Conditions rating, but his instructor later confirmed he had only had about seven hours of formal training.

Forty-seven minutes into the daytime flight the aircraft flew into low cloud covering a ridge of high ground, and about 10 seconds later flew into trees just below the ridgeline and broke up.

Two witnesses reported that the wings of the plane rocked just before entering the cloud, with the AAIB report claiming this possibly indicated "the pilot's uncertainty about the limited options available to him".

The report continued: "It is probable that, as the weather deteriorated on his route, he ran out of escape routes before inadvertently entering cloud.

"It is likely the pilot initiated a climb because he knew the aircraft was probably close to the ground. His actions were too late, however, for the aircraft to clear the ridge."

A site investigation concluded that both wings had been torn from the fuselage when it first hit the trees. Debris from the plane was strewn up to 120 metres from the impact point.

The pathologist's report states that both Mr Boon and Ms Potter died of multiple injuries, and that airbags may have led to their survival.