Criminal Investigation Launched Into Deaths of Two Men in Essex Plane Crash

The victims have been named as Vamshi Mandala, 25, from India, and Dylan Patel, 26, from Southall in London. The two-seat Cessna came down in a field off Mill Lane, Ongar, shortly after taking off from North Weald airfield, about seven miles away. Essex Police said the plane had been conducting a short flight experience, with only Mandala and Patel on board.

At an inquest opened on Thursday at Chelmsford County Hall, senior coroner for Essex Lincoln Brookes said he had received a request from Essex Police to suspend proceedings pending a criminal investigation running parallel to a probe by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB). Coroner's officer Deborah Wallace told the hearing that Patel had been piloting the aircraft when it unexpectedly crashed. Post-mortem examinations provisionally found both men died from multiple injuries, pending toxicology results.