A glider pilot has died following a mid-air collision in Leicestershire.
Leicestershire Police said that they were called on Thursday after reports of a glider crashing following a mid-air collision with a second glider.
One glider was found in a field in Alderman Way, Melton Mowbray, and the pilot was pronounced dead at the scene.
The second glider landed safely nearby, with the pilot sustaining minor injuries.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has been notified and will be leading the investigation.
The AAIB declined to comment but a spokesperson said that the wreckage had been recovered and the investigation was ongoing.
One resident told the BBC they saw the gliders collide over Melton Mowbray, with one crashing close to the Roundhouse Park housing estate in the west of the town.
David Leach, who lives on Marigold Crescent, said: “I came out and we just looked up watching them circle right above us and then, all of a sudden, there was a mighty bang,” he said.
“I think the end of the wing of one clipped the back end of one glider, chopping his tail end off and one of them just came crashing down like a rocket. The noise was terrible. It was just so bad to see and it happened so quick.”
A spokesperson for Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service said: “We received a call from Leicestershire Police at 15:05 to a microlight or glider that had crashed in a field in Melton Mowbray.
“We sent an appliance from Melton Mowbray Station and Birstall Station.”
Leicestershire Police has urged anyone with information or footage of the incident to contact police on 101, quoting incident 422 of August 17.
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