Plane crash which killed Paul Hollywood’s brother-in-law is still a mystery and may never be solved, rules coroner
A PLANE crash which killed Paul Hollywood's brother-in-law may never be explained, an inquest heard today.
Simon Moores, 62, the brother of Bake Off star Hollywood's estranged wife Alex, was found dead on a mountainside by rescuers after his light plane crashed in Spain on January 9.
Mr Moores and fellow pilot David Hockings were flying the aircraft back from Portugal to Kent when the crash happened.
The Piper III single-engine aircraft, owned by Mr Hockings, had been due to make a stopover in northern Spain.
Spanish rescuers found the wreckage and recovered the bodies of the two pilots on Hernio mountain south-west of San Sebastian in heavy cloud.
Dad-of-two Mr Moores had posted a photo of mountains taken from the plane's cockpit on Twitter at 9.25am, about three-and-a-half hours before the crash.
A LOUD BANG, THEN SILENCE
Days before the flight he had posted a picture of the aircraft with the caption "looking good".
At an inquest today at Canterbury Magistrates Court in Kent, coroner Ian Gouldroup said the reasons behind the crash were uncertain.
Spanish locals told the inquest they'd heard the sound of the aircraft's engine through the fog, followed by a loud bang and then silence.
Coroner Mr Gouldroup said: "At 1.14pm, Echhert Schlur was doing work at the town hall in the area. He heard and saw the light plane visible among clouds.
"He said about 30 seconds later he saw the plane descend and then he heard a loud noise.
We will never know if it was a plane fault or pilot error
Kent Coroner Ian Gouldroup
"At about 1.10pm, Mabrie Asmendi was standing next to his dwelling when the noise of an engine approached. There was dense fog covering the valley and the valley opposite.
"When the plane approached the mountain he heard the impact and the engine sound stopped. He called the authorities and explained what had happened.
"The next day he went to the accident site to help and they asked him to leave."
Citing poor evidence and unreliable translations from Spanish documents, the coroner concluded the reason for Mr Moores' death was "unascertained".
Mr Gouldroup said: "We have so little evidence. We don’t know whether there was an engine problem or a mechanical fault. We don’t know why the accident occurred.
"The cause of death is unascertained. We will never know if it was a plane fault or pilot error.
MOST READ IN NEWS
"This will be the end unless the family bring forward civil proceedings in Spain."
There were no members of Mr Moore's family at the inquest.
An inquest into the death of Mr Hockings, of Herstmonceux, East Sussex, is being held separately.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368 . We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.