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http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article979536.ece
A WITNESS told last night how he looked into the despairing eyes of the pilot before his plane ploughed into a house.
People on the ground also saw the faces of terrified passengers at the stricken executive jet’s windows as it screamed low overhead.
Dad-of-four Jason Murrell, 39, said: “I saw it coming straight at us. I looked into the eyes of the pilot and a female passenger.
“I thought it was going to hit our house and kill us — looking up I could see the terror in the passengers’ eyes as they whizzed past.
“The plane was so close you could see the panic on their faces.
“The pilot was struggling to bank away from our house and a terrified woman was staring straight at me. I’ll never forget that sight.”
The five who died were two crew and three passengers, on a motor racing trip to Pau in south-west France in the Cessna Citation 501.
Hero pilot Mike Roberts, 63, was killed along with former Formula One driver David Leslie, 54, and Richard Lloyd, 63.
Mr Roberts, who lived in Effingham, Surrey, was director of Flight Consultancy Services, based at Biggin Hill.
A freak bird strike was one theory put forward for yesterday’s crash near Biggin Hill airport, Kent.
Moments after taking off, the pilot sent a mayday message after “severe engine vibrations” and tried to return to the airfield.
But the twin-engined jet hit the house roof and exploded in a fireball as hero Mike desperately tried to crash in open fields.
The owners of the house in Farnborough, Kent, Eddie Harman, 72, and wife Patricia, 68, were away.
No one on the ground was seriously hurt.
Last night Eddie Harman told his brother Peter: “I’m lucky to be alive. If I hadn’t been on holiday I’d be dead.”
Jason went on: “I ran outside because my two young girls were out playing. I could see the plane going into the houses.
“The pilot was trying to clear the estate. He banked to the right towards some woods and battled to clear the houses but it crashed and exploded.
“He was a real hero. He did his best. It’s a miracle more people weren’t killed.
“People were scrambling out of their homes and shouting. One house was completely gone and another one was on fire. An elderly man had collapsed and his daughter was hysterical.
“I rushed towards the crash but there was a wall of fire blocking my path. It was so hot and powerful, there was nothing you could do for them. No one could have survived that.”
Other residents told how their estate was rocked by two massive explosions as the almost-full fuel tanks caught fire and blew up.
Tom Walker, 16, said: “I could see people in the plane looking terrified. It was coming in way too low, then all of a sudden the tail end of the plane dipped. We knew it was going down.
“The aircraft then flipped over on its side, as if the pilot was trying to dodge something.
“He would have known by then he was doomed but he was obviously trying not to hit houses.”
Gary Walcraft, 16, was one of about 20 people playing football on a playing field when he saw the jet heading for them.
He said: “I could see someone in the plane waving frantically at us to get out of the way but at the last second he gained a little height. I could see them grappling with the controls.
“You could make out two people in the cockpit, fighting to pull up. They didn’t stand a chance.”
The three bedroom house at No 5 Romsey Close was destroyed by the impact and blaze. The garage of neighbouring No 4 was wrecked.
Martin Muscatt, 44, said: “The plane was skimming the roofs and was at a bizarre angle, with the nose in the air. There was a ball of fire. A car outside No5 blew up.”
John Crane, one of the first on the scene, said: “There were two or three explosions — the fuel tanks. It was so fierce you couldn't get near.”
Karl Roe, 31, said: “It was total carnage, like a war zone.”
Kevin and Gill Wood, at No 4 Romsey Close had a lucky escape with their kids Tom, four, and George, one.
A neighbour said: “Kevin was out playing tennis. Gill was in the house with her parents. Their kids were playing in the back garden.”
The boys’ grandfather was rushed to hospital suffering from heart problems brought on by the shock.
A neighbour of the pilot Mike Roberts said he lived alone and did not appear to have children.
Singh Bamrah, 58, the owner of a maintenance company at Biggin Hill, said: “We had known each other for 20 years. He was one of the nicest men in the world.”
Another pilot landing at the Kent airfield heard the tragedy unfold over the radio.
John Sidbury told Sky News he heard the mayday call and could hear emergency alarms going off in its cockpit.
A few seconds later the Cessna “nose-dived out of the sky, the radio went dead and black smoke came up”.
Father-of-three Mr Lloyd, the boss of Apex Motorsport, who was also a former touring car champion was based in Buckinghamshire.
He was also a veteran driver who came second in the famous Le Mans race in 1985.
During the late 1960s, he managed Cliff Richard and the Shadows.
Last night, his wife Philippa, 56, and daughters Sophie, 28 Chloe, 26 and Amy, 22, were “devastated”.
