A PILOT who cheated death in an air crash has spoken of his devastation after writing off a vintage plane.

International airline pilot Jim Lachendro was flying with his son when the 70-year-old Tiger Moth suddenly lost power and crash-landed in a Moray field on Sunday night.

Despite walking away with no broken bones or serious injury, the Stonehaven airman said he was still "banged up a bit" and very sad about the incident.

He said: "This is a sad loss for the area. The Tiger Moth was a popular sight around Moray and I know that it did a lot of good up there.

"I feel very sad that that's not going to be the case, at least for the foreseeable future."

The plane, built by Morris Motors at Cowley in Oxfordshire in 1942, was bought by Moray estate owner Robin Falconer in 1981 from Strathallan Aircraft Museum and had become the pride and joy of the Shempston Flying Group.

Mr Falconer, who owns the Shempston Estate at Duffus, did not want to comment. He formed the flying group, whose members equally shared the burden of keeping the "old lady" in the sky.

The flying group has received messages of support from celebrities such as Hollywood star Ewan McGregor, whose brother Colin was a pilot at RAF Lossiemouth.

In an email, Colin said: "Guys, the following message is from my brother Ewan, who really enjoyed meeting you and would have liked to while away a day at Shempston.

"I'm so sorry about the Tiger Moth. Please pass on my sympathies to the other guys."

One of the eight members, John Farquhar, a retired teacher who has been flying the iconic biplane for 20 years, said it was an indescribable loss.

The veteran aircraft was left in a crumpled heap after the crash close to Shempston Estate, which sits near RAF Lossiemouth.

When Mr Farquhar went to the barley field to look at the crash scene he said it was like seeing "a dear old friend lying in a field".

The yellow Tiger Moth has drawn thousands of spectators to countless air shows and displays in Moray and beyond for decades.

However, Mr Farquhar, 66, of Elgin, said it was unlikely the wreckage could be restored any time soon and admitted it would cost thousands of pounds to get the aircraft back up in the air. He said the fuselage was damaged, the engine dislodged and the wings had collapsed backwards.

"Aircraft in a similar condition have been repaired but at a great expense," he said.

Another Shempston member, Phil Dacre, a retired RAF group captain, said everyone was terribly upset and disappointed.

The 71-year-old, who commanded the Jaguar Wing at RAF Lossiemouth in the 1980s and is currently serving as one of the deputy lieutenants of Moray, said he had been flying the Tiger Moth for almost 30 years.

A spokesman for the Air Accidents Investigation Branch said the crash was still under investigation.