‘British’ student dies alongside flying instructor when their light aircraft crashes into a natural park in Spain

A British man and his Spanish flight instructor were killed when their light plane crashed in a natural park in Spain.

The pair took off from Vélez-Málaga Airport, east of Málaga, and were flying to Valencia when tragedy struck shortly after midnight yesterday.

No calls were made until the plane crashed on May 1, just minutes after they stopped to refuel at nearby Almería airport before continuing their journey.

The pilot was identified as 24-year-old Raphael Ricotte, who worked as an instructor at the nearby One Air Diamond Flight Centre.

His 26-year-old student was identified locally only by his first name, Marcus, and was described as a Costa del Sol man from “a family of British origin”.

The light plane crashed around midnight on Wednesday east of Malaga, Spain

There were no May calls before the plane crashed, which happened just minutes after the couple stopped to refuel at nearby Almeria airport.

The plane crashed near Cerro del Fraile (pictured)

Civil Guard mountain rescuers recovered the men’s bodies from the wreckage, which was captured by local media.

The wreckage of the plane was searched by local police and civil aviation accident investigators, who have since launched a separate investigation into the incident.

Civil Guard officers in Almería said they were unable to confirm the nationalities of the two dead men.

The light aircraft crashed in the vicinity of Cerro del Fraile, a peak of volcanic origin in the Cabo de Gata-Nijar Natural Park.

Several Hollywood movies have been filmed in the scenic area, including The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

The spokesperson of the emergency response coordination center managed by the regional government confirmed. “Early Wednesday morning, two people died in an air crash in Nijar municipality.

“An emergency alert was received at around 12.30am from Valencia Airport indicating that contact had been lost with a light aircraft in the vicinity of Cerro del Fraile.

“The caller stated that the plane belongs to the flight training school of Malaga and was going to Valencia with two people.

“Firefighters were immediately alerted, as well as police forces, including the Civil Guard and National Police, Coast Guard, Civil Defense officers and other responders.

“Firefighters later confirmed that they had found the bodies of two people in a hard-to-reach area near Cerro del Fraile.”

Tributes have been pouring in on social media for Rafael Ricote, who hails from the southern Spanish city of Córdoba.

One of the friends said: “He dreamed of being a pilot since childhood. He was a wonderful person.”

MailOnline has contacted One Air Diamond Flight Center for comment.

More to follow.