British Couple Killed In France Plane Crash - Sky News

5:49pm UK, Saturday June 18, 2011

A British pilot and his wife have been killed after their small plane crashed into a mountain near the French Riviera.

James and Jacqueline Balmer were killed in a place crash in France

James and Jacqueline Balmer are thought to have set off from Italy on their way to Troyes in France.

The wreckage of the light aircraft was found on Friday on Mont Agel, between the port of Menton on the French coast, and the principality of Monaco.

According to local reports, the Piper PA-39 took off shortly after 10am but lost all radar contact at 11.28am.

At present we do not know what caused the accident.

French police

A witness saw the plane flying at a "very low altitude" at around midday and alerted the emergency services.

Authorities found the wreckage after searching in the sea and air using helicopters and a naval minesweeper.

The bodies of Mr Balmer, 68, and his wife, 54, from Cirencester in Gloucestershire, were taken to the nearby city of Nice.

Mrs Balmer used to work as a stunt woman, who went by the name of Jacquie de Creed.

The wreckage was found on Mont Agel in the south of France

According to her website, she jumped a car "further than any man or woman in history" in 1983 and broke the long distance car ramp jump record.

Her husband is understood to have run a men's clothes shop in Cirencester.

A friend said their family were currently out of the country.

A spokesman for the French police said: "At present we do not know what caused the accident. Investigations are ongoing."

It is thought that heavy fog in the area on Friday morning might have forced the six-seater plane to fly low.