Two men have died following a light aircraft crash in Greater Manchester

Two people have died after a light aircraft crashed in Greater Manchester.

The incident occurred shortly after 11am in a farmland area in Rochdale.

Greater Manchester police confirmed two men were found and pronounced dead at the scene.

It is believed that they were the only two people onboard the plane and no other injuries were reported on the ground.

Chief Superintendent Danny Inglis said: “This is a devastating incident where two people have lost their lives and our thoughts are with their families and friends.

“We have been working closely with emergency service colleagues and partner agencies throughout the day to establish the full circumstances and we will be on scene overnight and into tomorrow.

“There will be an enhanced presence as officers and investigators comprehensively survey the area and ensure all available evidence is recovered.

“If anyone has any information, or witnessed the crash, we would urge you to get in touch with us.”

Photos on social media appeared to show a yellow parachute partly wrapped around the base of an electricity pylon, near to the crash site. In other images from the scene, a large emergency service presence is at the site, including several fire engines, police and ambulance vehicles.

There are reports that the aircraft which crashed is a Cirrus SR20, a plane which is fitted with a parachute system designed to deploy in an emergency.

Flight tracking site flightradar24 shared a message on X, with a photo of the flight path and the Cirrus aircraft.

A Cirrus SR20, registered as G-GXVV, appears to have crashed near Rochdale in the United Kingdom. The aircraft departed Birmingham at 09:59 local time. The last signal was received at around 10:39, south of the M62 motorway near Marsden. At this time, we are not aware of any… pic.twitter.com/UK28Ro5hFN

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) February 3, 2026

It explained a plane departed Birmingham Airport at 9.59am and the last signal was received at around 10.39am “south of the M62 motorway near Marsden”. It has not officially been confirmed whether this is the aircraft which crashed.

Most Read

Chappell Roan broke the Grammys 2026 with *that* risqué dress, so here’s how it actually worked

The real reason Daphne was written out of Bridgerton and won’t appear in season four

Love Island’s Curtis has addressed whether he would be open to dating a man

A Birmingham Airport spokesman confirmed a private light aircraft left its XLR Executive Jet Centre at around 10am this morning.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) issued a statement related to the crash.

“An accident involving a light aircraft which occurred today (3 February) near Rochdale, Greater Manchester has been notified to the AAIB.

“An investigation has been launched and a multidisciplinary team of inspectors are on their way to the accident site.”

Featured image via Unsplash and YouTube