Two men have died after a light aircraft crashed onto farmland in Greater Manchester, police have confirmed.
The small Cirrus SR20 plane came down near the M62 motorway in Littleborough, close to Rochdale, at around 11:00 GMT on Tuesday.
According to Greater Manchester Police (GMP), the aircraft had taken off from the XLR Executive Jet Centre at Birmingham Airport at about 10:00 GMT.
Emergency services attended the scene and later recovered the bodies of the two men on board. Police said no other passengers were believed to be in the aircraft, and no injuries were reported on the ground.
A team from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has been deployed to the crash site, while a cordon remains in place as investigators continue inquiries.
Ch Supt Danny Inglis described the incident as “devastating” and said officers would remain at the scene overnight and into the next day.
Witnesses near the area reported seeing what appeared to be a yellow parachute canopy caught on an electricity pylon close to the crash site. The Cirrus SR20 model is known to be fitted with a parachute deployment system.
One local farmer, Pete Robinson, said he noticed a large emergency response and initially believed a paraglider had crashed, adding that weather conditions were extremely windy on the moor.
Birmingham Airport confirmed the aircraft departed from the XLR Executive Jet Centre and said it was supporting partners involved in the investigation, adding that further comments would be made only after facts are established.
Police have appealed to anyone who witnessed the crash or has information to come forward.
