A GYROCOPTER pilot with only two and half hours’ experience of solo flying died after a door flew open while he was in the air, an inquest heard.

Stephen Bradley, 51, died on April 28 when his Magni M24 gyrocopter crashed in a field near Old Sarum Airfield in Salisbury and burst into flames.

The accident happened at about 12.30pm after Mr Bradley got into trouble shortly after taking off.

The inquest, held in Trowbridge on Friday, heard that when the door opened, Mr Bradley radioed the airfield and told them he was coming back in to land.

Flying instructor Steve Boxall told him to ignore the door and concentrate on flying the gyrocopter.

This was the last radio contact but witnesses said it looked as though the pilot was trying to carry out an emergency landing in a field near Hilltop Way when the plane crashed before catching on fire.

Mr Bradley, a retired managing director from Guildford, already held a helicopter licence and had completed his gyrocopter training the month he died.

Mr Boxall had taken Mr Bradley’s gyrocopter on a 15-minute flight earlier that morning to check it and said it was fine.

Tony Severs, an investigator with the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), told the inquest the door had effectively been locked open when the handle was moved to the locked position but the mechanism did not slide in properly.

He believes Mr Bradley was holding the door closed with his left hand, which meant he could more easily lose control while trying to land.

Mr Severs said on investigation they found doors flying open suddenly on this model had happened on seven other occasions nationwide.

Following Mr Bradley’s death the Civil Aviation Authority and the manufacturer have issued safety advice and the gyrocopter will also be modified over the next year so it has an improved warning system.

From March 2013 any newly manufactured aircraft will have to be investigated for the risk of doors coming open as part of the certification process.

Mr Severs said: “Perhaps if this had an additional warning system Steve wouldn’t have died. Unfortunately many people have lost their lives making aviation safe.”

The jury returned a verdict of accidental death.