Dorset Man Hurt, Pilot Killed In Microlight Crash

19 November 2012, 12:09 | Updated: 19 November 2012, 12:15

A British pilot has died and a man from Dorset has been injured following a microlight accident in Thailand.

Tom Grieve, 57, and a passenger were said to be scattering the ashes of a friend above Pattaya Bay when the aircraft lost power and crashed into the Gulf of Thailand at 70mph.

The machine is said to have clipped an object as he tried to make an emergency landing on Saturday afternoon (17th November).

Mr Grieve, thought to be from Lanarkshire originally, died in hospital from apparent chest injuries shortly after being rescued from the sea.

Patrick Esser, 31, of Lyme Regis, Dorset, reportedly suffered a broken arm and was treated at Pattaya Memorial Hospital, east of Bangkok.

The pair are said to have been making a tribute to close friend Stuart Long who died of throat cancer aged 41, and they were about to scatter his ashes in the sea when the engine cut out at around 2,000ft.

Mr Grieve was aiming for a large piece of concrete to land on but the machine clipped something on the way, crashing into the water upside down.

Mr Grieve - a well-known former member of Connel Flying Club in Oban, who lived in Pattaya, Thailand, and who was separated from his wife - is said to have received awards for his airmanship.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: ''We can confirm the death of a British national, Thomas Grieve, and the hospitalisation of a British national following a microlight aircraft accident in Pattaya, Thailand.

We are providing consular assistance to Mr Grieve's family at this difficult time.''