Paul Hollywood’s brother-in-law was killed in horror plane crash caused by his own poor planning, investigators reveal
A PLANE crash which killed Paul Hollywood’s brother-in-law was caused by his poor flight planning, air accident investigators have found.
Pilot Simon Moores crashed into a mountain in Spain after flying through an area covered with thick clouds and fog, a probe has ruled.
The 62-year-old, whose sister Alex was married to Bake Off star Paul for nearly 20 years, died instantly along with passenger friend David Hockings on January 9 last year.
Last night, investigators said visibility was so poor that Mr Moores did not see the mountain until it was right in front of him - but the crash could have been avoided with proper planning.
Spain’s Civil Aviation Accident and Incident Investigation Commission (CIAIAC) said: “The accident resulted from the decision to continue flying through an area where visibility was below the minimum required.
“Improper flight planning is deemed to have contributed to the accident.”
The Piper Arrow III single-engine aircraft, which belonged to Mr Hockings, was torn to pieces in the crash on Mount Hernio, near Errezil, northern Spain.
Ruling out any aircraft faults and saying Mr Moores and his passenger had valid licences and ample flying experience, the investigators added in their 38-page report: “The frontal impact against the rock wall on the mountain was so violent that there was no chance of survival.
“The impact with the mountain occurred with no evasive manoeuvre by the pilot to either bank the airplane or pitch it up.
“This clearly indicates that the crash occurred because the mountain was obscured from the pilot’s view.”
It added: “Had the flight been planned in more detail, the crew would have known that the aircraft could not descend below 4,500 feet until after the line of summits that includes Mount Hernio.
“The fact that the aircraft was already flying below 4,500ft some nine miles before reaching Mount Hernio shows that the crew had not studied and planned the altitude that was required, at least for this part of the flight.”
Last September, a Kent coroner concluded the cause of Mr Moores’ death was “unascertained”.
Citing poor evidence and unreliable translations from Spanish documents, coroner Ian Gouldroup said:
“We don’t know whether there was an engine problem, whether it was mechanical. We don’t know why the accident occurred.”
The two Brits left Cascais in Portugal at 8.30am local time on Jaanuary 9 and were heading for San Sebastian near Spain’s border with France when they crashed.
They were originally due to head to Biarritz in France but changed their destination the morning of the accident, citing potential refuelling problems which investigators said they had found no evidence to support.
The flight plan filed showed the journey was expected to last three hours 42 minutes.
Their last radio contact, with Bilbao Air Traffic control, was just after midday.
Minutes later the radar signal from the aircraft was lost and the plane hit the south face of Mount Hernio.
The weather forecast for the area where the crash occurred showed adverse conditions including rain, low clouds and “mountain obscuration”.
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An eyewitness who heard the impact and alerted the authorities said there was a thick fog at the time which blocked his view of the aircraft.
Dad-of-two Mr Moores, owner of a banner-flying company, posted stunning cockpit images of the Spanish mountains prior to the crash.
Paul and Alexandra Hollywood were married for 19 years before they spilt in 2017.
Mr Moores was openly scathing of Paul’s brief relationship with barmaid Summer Monteys-Fulham after the star’s split from his sister, saying: “I am sure it will all end in tears.”
