Tragic video shows moments before pilot died in plane crash as visitors looked on at Imperial War Museum airfield

A TRAGIC video has shown the moments before a pilot died in a plane crash at an airfield.

The Cirrus SR22 went nose-first into the field, causing a ballistic parachute – which pilots pull in an emergency – to shoot out.

Dad-of-three pilot Simon Riggs died at the scene after his privately-owned single-engine aircraft wrecked at Duxford Airfield in Cambridgeshire yesterday.

A witness said the pilot lost control while practising ‘touch and go’ circuit landings.

There were no other passengers when the tech entrepreneur’s Cirrus SR22 hit the ground.

Simon’s stepson, Sam Holdstock-Marshall, paid tribute to a “much loved husband, father and friend”.

He wrote online: “It is with a heavy heart that I’m sharing this news.

“Yesterday afternoon Simon Riggs passed away.

“Having recently stepped down from working life, Simon continued …