TWO aircraft have collided mid-air – leaving one “chopped in half” before it crashed to the ground.
The two gliders smashed into each other just after 3pm today in the skies above Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire.
One of the gliders crashed yards from a housing estate in the west of the town.
Witness David Leach told the BBC: “I came out and we just looked up watching them circle right above us.
“Then, all of a sudden, there was a mighty bang.
“I think the end of the wing of one clipped the back end of one glider, chopping his tail end off – and one of them just came crashing down like a rocket.”
No details of any injuries have yet been released.
The Air Accidents Investigations Branch said: “We have launched an investigation into a glider mid-air collision which occurred this afternoon near Melton Mowbray, Leicester.
“We have deployed a team to the site.”
Another local said the pilot of one of the gliders walked across the field before knocking on her door.
She said the unhurt pilot was “very shaken and concerned about the other pilot”.
Leicestershire Police said cops had scrambled to the crash site along with firefighters and ambulance crew.
A spokeswoman for the housing estate said: “We can confirm that an incident took place on our Roundhouse Park site in Melton Mowbray involving a light aircraft.
“We can confirm that all of the site staff are accounted for and there have been no reports of injuries on the ground.
“We have closed the site while emergency services and the relevant authorities are dealing with the incident.”
