Air crash: All five bodies recovered; ++ MID-AIR COLLISION ++.

Byline: By Michael Corley & Christina Savvas

THE bodies of four people killed in a mid-air plane crash in Warwickshire were last night recovered from woodland.

The body of a fifth person was found earlier in a nearby field, opposite Coombe Abbey.

Officers had been carrying out a grim search throughout the day, looking for the remains of four people who had been in a Cessna 402.

The Cessna was involved in a collision with a light aircraft on Sunday morning.

The four people on board - two men and two women - were three qualified pilots and an engineer from specialist firm RVC, based at Coventry Airport.

Police said the remains had been recovered in Birchley Wood and were last night being taken from the scene. Post-mortems are expected to be carried out today.

None of the deceased has been officially identified.

Earlier, the body of the pilot of a oneseater light aircraft - the fifth victim of the tragedy - was removed from a cornfield opposite Coombe Abbey.

Specialist teams then began scouring the cornfield for evidence.

That search began after part of a wing and the tail were recovered. The air accident investigation team has the painstaking task of combing through the field to try to piece together what happened in the skies between Coombe Abbey and Binley Woods on Sunday.

The Air Accident Investigation Bureau is leading the inquiry into what caused the crash just before 11.30am on Sunday.

Both aircraft came down towards the front of Coombe Abbey - one to the right and one in nearby Birchley Wood.

Last night, it was claimed one of the aircraft was a home-built plane.

The British Microlight Aircraft Association said the smaller plane was a kit plane.

The association posted a statement on its website to confirm that the light aircraft was not a microlight.

Geoff Weighell, Chief Executive of the BMAA, said: "Using the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) UK Register I have confirmed that the aircraft was not a microlight. It was a two seat home-built light aircraft from the LAA (Light Aircraft Association) fleet.

"Irrespective of aircraft type I would like to offer the condolences of all the BMAA membership to the families and friends of the pilots and passengers of the two aircraft."

CAPTION(S):

TRAGIC SCENE... Mourners arrive to lay flowers at the crash area; a tent in Birchley Wood where police searched for the four remaining bodies and (below) a map showing where the aircraft came down.