WITNESSES to the plane crash that killed Orlando Rogers have described hearing the Tiger Moth’s engine cut out before it entered a spin.

Pilot Scott Hoyle was charged with manslaughter after the crash at Manswood, near Witchampton, on May 15, 2011, which the Crown alleges was caused by his attempting a reckless loop-the-loop.

The 47-year-old former non-commissioned officer with the Royal Marines had already performed loops that afternoon in the same aircraft, but with a different passenger.

Giving evidence at the trial at Winchester Crown Court yesterday, Manswood residents described seeing the vintage silver biplane pass overhead on both flights.

One, Geoffrey Hill, told the court: “I could see the plane clearly, it flew out across the fields then climbed to do a loop-the-loop. It started to pull up, right up and over and the engine cut out.

“It came down the other side but the engine didn’t restart.”

He said the plane, co-owned by Hoyle, then entered an increasingly steep spin until it hit the ground.

Another witness, Terrance May, said: “The plane came over, it almost mirrored what it did the first time.

“It went up into a loop, again the engine coughed and spluttered a little bit, it came back round, rose up, twisted round a little bit to go into a spiral. As it started to spiral down I immediately thought something wasn’t right.” Hoyle’s passenger on the first flight – Royal Marine troop commander Nicholas Diamond – also gave evidence.

Mr Diamond, a friend of fellow marine Mr Rogers, 26, said Hoyle had discussed performing loops with them before the flights, and had provided a thorough safety briefing at Compton Abbas airfield.

He told the court he had previous flying experience and was comfortable with the aerobatics.

Cross-examining the witness, Stephen Spence QC said: “At any time did you feel he was trying to scare you, to show off or anything like that?”

“No, far from it,” Mr Diamond said.

The court heard from plane co-owner and trustee Timothy Le Mesurier, who said the Tiger Moth was kept in good condition and had been serviced only eight hours before the fatal flight.

The last pilot to fly it immediately before Hoyle, Christopher Nicholls, told the court he had encountered no problems.

Hoyle, of Charborough Road, Broadstone, Poole, pleaded not guilty to one count of manslaughter and one count of endangering the safety of an aircraft or any person in an aircraft.

The trial continues.