Aircraft in Essex crash that killed two identified as Cessna A152; cause not determined
Official records identify the aircraft as G-BRCD; Essex Police and the AAIB are investigating the 30 June 2026 crash that killed a student passenger and the pilot.
men died when a light aircraft came down near , Essex, on 30 June 2026, according to the Deccan Chronicle and the Mirror. The Mirror placed the crash at and the Deccan Chronicle at . The aircraft has been identified from an official record as ; aircraft registry records list as a Cessna Aircraft Company CESSNA A152 Aerobat, a single-engine piston landplane, serial number A152-0796, registered in the United Kingdom, with one Lycoming O-235-L2C engine listed as "( MCCAULEY 1A103/TCM6958 )". The Deccan Chronicle described the aircraft as a and the Mirror as a . The Deccan Chronicle reported people on board.
Both outlets reported the dead as passenger Vamshi Mandala, an Indian student, and pilot Dylan Patel, 26, described by the Deccan Chronicle as of Indian origin. Mandala's age was given as 25 by the Mirror and 24 by the Deccan Chronicle. The Mirror reported that Mandala had chartered a 30-minute experience flight to celebrate finishing university, that the aircraft took off from North Weald Airfield and came down near Mill Road eight minutes later, and that both men were identified using DNA and fingerprints. The Mirror also reported that the flight cost at least £125 and offered supervised access to the plane's dual controls, and that flight tracking data showed the aircraft had already been flown twice that day. Essex Coroner's Court was told the men died at the scene from multiple injuries.
The cause has not been determined. Essex Police and the Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) are investigating. The Deccan Chronicle reported that The Mirror reported that Essex Police had asked for inquest proceedings to be suspended "pending the outcome of a police investigation"; senior coroner Lincoln Brookes opened and suspended the inquest and called the deaths "truly disturbing". The Deccan Chronicle reported that the crash site was a field off Mill Lane, where a three-day search was completed, and that the aircraft was carefully dismantled before being removed for investigation.
Geographic reference data places in the Epping Forest district of Essex, England, at a settlement elevation of 266 ft, 5.8 miles E of North Weald Airfield (EGSX) and 1.6 miles S of Willingale Airstrip.
Separately, accident records list other cases associated with the same owner or operator entity: a Robinson R44, LN-OGT, at Eidanger, Norway, on 17 June 2021, with one fatality; a Fairchild 227, LV-VDJ, at Mendoza, Argentina, on 5 November 2020; a Rans S6, 62-ALK, at Lasne, Belgium, on 13 September 2020, with fatalities; a Beech 58, PR-OFI, at Sao Paulo, Brazil, on 8 July 2020, with one fatality; and a Piper PA-22, D-EIRY, at Petrovice, Czech Republic, on 26 September 2019, with fatalities. Those records are history only and say nothing about the cause of this accident.
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Reference data
From aircraft and geographic registries, not from the news sources. Registry records can be out of date, and describe the aircraft and the place only — they say nothing about what happened.
Registration
G-BRCD
Type
Cessna Aircraft Company CESSNA A152 Aerobat — single-engine piston landplane
Engines
1 x LYCOMING O-235-L2C ( MCCAULEY 1A103/TCM6958 )<br>
Added Deccan Chronicle reporting: AAIB and Essex Police roles, police appeal for footage, Mill Lane field site and three-day search, aircraft dismantled for investigation, plus sourced ranges on the passenger's age and the location name.
Version 113 Aug 2026, 11:12
First published.
Version 113 Aug 2026, 11:09current
First published.
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