A Shropshire man died when a stunt plane in which he was a passenger crashed into the sea off the coast of Australia.

Ian Lovell, formerly of Shifnal, had been bought a £228 place on the doomed flight by his girlfriend as a present.

The 35-year-old’s body was recovered from the wreckage of the converted Russian Yak-52 stunt plane along with that of the pilot, 60-year-old Australian flying legend Barry Hempel.

Investigators are looking into the possibility that veteran aerobatics champion Mr Hempel, who ran Brisbane-based charter business and flight school Hempels Aviation, was not licensed to carry paying passengers.

Investigators are understood to have receipts and witnesses to Mr Lovell being bought a ticket for the flight which took off from Archerfield Airport near Brisbane.

The plane crashed into the sea off South Stradbroke Island, Queensland, at about 12.30pm local time last Sunday.

Steep

Witnesses reported seeing the red stunt plane perform a series of dives and loops before going into a steep dive and then plummeting into the ocean.

The bodies of Mr Lovell and Mr Hempel were retrieved two days later after Queensland Police using sonar equipment located the wreckage in 20 metres of water.

Mr Lovell had been living in Brisbane at the time, having moved to Australia a few years ago. Mr Lovell’s family in Shifnal today declined to comment on the tragedy but said a relative was flying out to Australia.

Mr Lovell was a lead animator in a computer game company and he became an Australian citizen this year.

Brisbane Police spokesman Sgt Ciaron Jackson told the Shropshire Star: “The family has authorised the release of Ian Lovell’s name and I am also authorised to say that he is from the Shropshire area.”

Police and the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority have launched an investigation and an initial report is due next week.

Mr Lovell was a devotee of the Star Wars films and, in May 1999, the Shropshire Star reported how he decided he could not wait for the UK release of the then latest film in the series, The Phantom Menace, and so travelled to America to watch it two months ahead of its premiere over here.