A MAN has described how he saw the famous plane statue at the entrance of the Grove Business Park come crashing to the ground.

Chris Douch said he had been driving towards Wantage from Gove at around 10.30am when he saw the plane ‘swinging heavily’ in the wind.

He said: “It suddenly fell, rocking slightly back and forth before crashing onto the grass below. It all happened so quickly. It was one of the most surreal things I’ve ever seen. It didn’t look real!

“It had been completely destroyed on impact, breaking into multiple pieces. It was definitely beyond repair.”

PICTURES BY JOHN BROWN 

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He added: “Very fortunately it didn’t injure anybody and just missed landing on the road. It would have been fatal.

“I was prepared for weather conditions to be bad today but I definitely didn’t expect an aeroplane to almost crash into me!”

When the news broke that the plane had crash landed after the strong winds this morning members of the community spoke of the huge loss.

John Brown, who went to the scene this morning and shared his pictures with the Oxford Mail, said: “The whole village are devastated by it.”

The aeroplane is at the entrance to Grove Business Park which was the former RAF Grove Airfield.

In 2007, the then owners had the de Havilland Venom installed.

Mr Douch said: “The aeroplane has been an important fixture of the local community for many years and represent a great deal to those who live here. It stood proudly next to the Grove Airfield, overlooking a roundabout that my children have always known as ‘The Aeroplane Roundabout’. It’s going to be really missed by everyone who lives and works in the local area, especially those who rely on it for directions!”

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