A CORONER has delivered an open verdict into the deaths of two men who died following a plane crash near Writtle.

Pilot Andrew Sully, 50 of Writtle, and passenger Simon Chamberlain, 29, of Harlow, were killed after the YAK 52 light aircraft they were flying in nose-dived into a field north of the A414 in Cooksmill Green.

Mr Chamberlain was not scheduled to be on the flight, but was already at the airfield when he met Mr Sully and was offered the chance to be a passenger on the scheduled 20-minute flight.

The pair sadly died of multiple injuries following the crash on March 29, 2014.

Mr Chamberlain, a father-of-one, had been the secretary for the North Weald Airfield Museum since 2009 and Mr Sully was an experienced British Airways pilot.

Earlier this year, a report by the Air Accidents Investigations Branch delivered an inconclusive verdict after it was unable to determine why the aircraft was flying at a low level, or why it made its final manoeuvre, although it was suggested that the plane may of stalled before striking the ground.

Coroner Eleanor McGann returned an open verdict during today's inquest.