Accidental death verdict for plane crash which killed hotelier
An inquest into the death of Gary Vickers and partner Kaye Clarke has recorded a verdict of accidental death after the hoteliers' private aircraft crashed on landing in November.
The owner of Mill Hill hotel was travelling back from a shopping trip to Paris when Vickers' light twin-engine Cessna aircraft nosedived as it attempted to land at Hawarden Airport.
An air accident investigation into the crash last year found that the experienced pilot's plane ran out of fuel, though the inquest heard that the plane had 30 litres of fuel in the reserve tank and two litres in the main tank.
Coroner John Gittins told the family at the inquest: "Sadly, despite the medical intervention both received, death was an inevitability. If there can be any little piece of comfort you can take, they would have known very little about it, as both would have lost consciousness immediately.
"Mr Vickers was doing something he loved and although Miss Clarke wasn't as fond of flying as he was, she absolutely trusted him in everything they did."
Gordon Vickers, who co-owned the Mill Hill hotel with his son, told the Chester Chronicle: "Gary was an extremely competent pilot and he would have known exactly how many litres of fuel he needed to use. He was not a person to take chances."