Light aircraft crash victims named Published duration 4 May 2015

image copyright Police Scotland image caption John MacKinnon (left) and Andrew Thompson died in the crash

The two men who died when a light aircraft crashed near Abernyte in Perthshire on Sunday have been named.

Police said the occupants were 37-year-old Andrew Thompson, who was from Chester but had also lived in Bearsden in Glasgow, and 53-year-old John MacKinnon, from Ross-shire.

Formal identification is yet to take place.

The plane had been expected at Dundee airport at 12:00, but lost contact while about four miles away.

It had left Inverness airport on Sunday morning, and had been in contact with air traffic control in Dundee.

Weather was poor at the time it went missing, with heavy rain, fog and wind gusts of up to 35mph (56kmh).

A large ground and air search was launched for the plane, involving police, coastguard teams, the RNLI and the RAF.

Rescuers discovered the wreckage about four hours later, about 10 miles (16km) west of the airport.

Police said joint investigations to establish the full circumstances of the crash would continue and formal identifications of both deceased would take place in due course.

Dundee Airport, on the shore of the Firth of Tay, is a popular base in the area for light aircraft enthusiasts.