Plane crash which killed pilot, 21, and passenger, 24, happened during aerobatic manoeuvre, inquest hears

Published: 15:47, 30 April 2026 | Updated: 15:56, 30 April 2026 A plane crash which left two young men dead happened after the pilot performed an aerobatic manoeuvre, an inquest has heard. The two seater Cessna aircraft span out of control at 5,000 feet when it was flying near Breighton Airfield in July last year. Rookie pilot Matthew Bird, 21, was 'newly rated for aerobatic flying' - but crashed into a field at Thorganby near Selby, North Yorkshire, killing himself and 24-year-old passenger Oliver Dawes. An inquest has now heard Mr Bird failed to recover the plane from multiple spins. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report said the aircraft entered a fully developed spin but when Mr Bird tried to recover it, the control column was not pushed far enough forward. It added: 'The pilot was newly rated for aerobatic flying, and it was likely that the spin recovery technique had not yet become a skill based response that he could apply effectively even when surprised. 'The accident highlighted how unexpectedly challenging it can be to recover from multiple turn spins.' Mr Bird had entered the plane into a power off stall and spin descending 1,300 feet and then made a Mayday call saying the aircraft was 'uncontrolled'. Rookie pilot Matthew Bird (pictured), 21, was 'newly rated for aerobatic flying' - but crashed into a field at Thorganby near Selby, North Yorkshire The passenger was Oliver Dawes, 24, (pictured) from Burley in Wharfedale. His family previously paid tribute, describing him as 'generous', 'hardworking' and 'fun' An aerial view of the crash site in North Yorkshire, where the two young men died after the light aircraft they were flying in crashed The AAIB conclusion was that he intentionally stalled the aircraft but after three turns did not unstall the wing. Mr Bird had qualified for his aerobatic rating after 5.3 hours of flying against a minimum requirement of five hours. In a statement, his family previously paid tribute - saying they would 'cherish the incredibly special memories he's left with us'. They added: 'We lost our son, a brother, grandson, nephew, cousin and friend. 'Matthew meant so much to so many. We are utterly heartbroken but he will live on in our hearts as we cherish the incredibly special memories he's left us with.' Mr Dawes' family said: 'Yesterday, we lost a dearly loved son, cousin, nephew and friend. 'Oliver will continue to live on in our hearts and memories as the kind, generous, hardworking and fun man he had become. We will miss him every day for the rest of our lives, we are heartbroken.' At the time, villagers said the aircraft appeared to have landed relatively in one piece and believed the pilot was trying to carry out a controlled crash landing. Much of the field had consisted of rutted soil which one local described as 'hard as concrete'.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.