Son died doing what he loved

His mother Emma Hanson spoke about her 18-year-old son after listening to evidence of how he and two other friends died in a helicopter crash last week.

The 42-year-old mother said her first husband had been a nationally renowned helicopter pilot and young Dennis had been desperate to follow in his footsteps. "I even fed him as a baby while flying in the cockpit of a helicopter," said Mrs Hanson, who has since remarried.

Details of how Dennis Mark Kenyon and 24-year-old Jane Biddulph, both from Shoreham Beach, and 38-year-old pilot Brendan Loft, met their deaths were revealed at the inquest opening in Windsor.

The body of Ms Biddulph, who was believed to have jumped out of the doomed helicopter before the crash, was found more than 200 yards away from the wreckage of the Hughes 300 helicopter. Police were only able to find Dennis' body after they saw his arm stretching out of the helicopter remains.

It was not until the next day they were able to recover his body. The third victim, pilot Brendan Loft, was badly burned and was also found within the wreckage. All three victims were positively identified by dental records.

Speaking after the inquest opening, the distraught mother told how her son was devoted to helicopters and wanted to start up a business with the pilot of the helicopter Brendan Loft.

"They were going to call it Helidynamics. Brendan was his ultimate best friend.

My son was 17 years old when he passed his helicopter licence test. He was also doing his A-levels and was in the final few months before he finished school. You have heard of people being born in the saddle - well, he was born in a helicopter."

She added: "I believe my son died doing what he loved best. I feel it is a complete and absolute tragic accident and no one was to blame."

Det Sgt Steve Hunt, of Thames Valley Police, told East Berkshire coroner Peter Bedford that Mr Kenyon's body was only discovered by his arm reaching out from the tangled wreckage.

He said: "Two bodies were initially found, one was in the wreckage and had been burned and one lay 75 metres from the wreckage in an open field.

"A number of witnesses had described seeing someone fall out of the aircraft when it was still in the sky. Our inquiries showed there had actually been three people in the aircraft when it took off from High Wycombe airfield.

"An intensive search took place and we actually found the third body contained within the wreckage. The rest of the body was trapped under the wreckage."

The inquest in Windsor, Berkshire, was told post-mortem examinations revealed all three died of massive multiple injuries. The bodies of all victims were released for burial by the coroner, who adjourned the hearing to a later date.

A Civil Aviation Authority inquiry into the tragedy is also under way to establish why the helicopter crashed.

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