Littleborough, United Kingdom: Two men have died after a private light aircraft crashed in farmland near Littleborough, in the Rochdale district of Greater Manchester, police confirmed on Tuesday.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said emergency services were called to reports of the incident shortly after 11 a.m. GMT on 3 February 2026. The crash occurred in a rural area close to Hollingworth Lake and Blackstone Edge, not far from the M62 motorway.
Officers and paramedics quickly arrived on scene, supported by fire crews and specialist investigators from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB). GMP confirmed the bodies of two men were found at the site and were pronounced dead by emergency responders.
Preliminary data from flight-tracking services indicate the aircraft involved was a Cirrus SR20, a single-engine four-seat light aircraft commonly used in private and general aviation. The plane had reportedly departed Birmingham Airport’s XLR Executive Jet Centre at around 10 a.m. on Tuesday. It was tracked flying for approximately 40 minutes before its transponder signal stopped south of the M62 near Marsden, West Yorkshire, shortly before the crash.
There were no other passengers on board, and there have been no confirmed injuries on the ground.
Police established a secure perimeter around the crash site while emergency personnel conducted searches and evidence recovery. Road closures were in place in the immediate vicinity, and residents and visitors were asked to avoid the area to allow investigative work to continue.
Images circulating on social media and confirmed by official statements show a yellow parachute canopy entangled on an electricity pylon near the scene. The Cirrus aircraft type involved is fitted with a Ballistic Recovery System (BRS), designed to deploy a whole-aircraft parachute in emergencies. At this stage, investigators have not provided a definitive explanation of whether the parachute was deliberately deployed by the pilot or triggered by impact forces.
A National Grid spokesman said its engineers were on site supporting the emergency services, and there was no disruption to the local power supply.
Chief Superintendent Danny Inglis, district commander for GMP’s Rochdale division, described the incident as “a devastating incident where two people have lost their lives,” and extended condolences to the families and friends of the deceased. He added that officers would remain at the scene into the following days to support investigators and collect evidence.
The AAIB confirmed that it has launched a formal investigation into the accident and has deployed a multidisciplinary team of inspectors to examine wreckage, flight data, and other relevant materials. The regulatory body typically issues a preliminary report in the weeks following an accident and a full report in due course, depending on the complexity of the findings.
