An experienced pilot died when his light aircraft crashed on a runway after he reported a flying control problem, the cause of which remains a mystery, an inquest heard on Thursday.

Self-employed business management adviser John Backhouse, 62, of Antrobus, Cheshire, died in September 2017 at Caernarfon airfield in Gwynedd.

The plane had burst into flames after hitting the runway and he was identified by dental records.

Mr Backhouse had been flying from his private airstrip to Weston airport, Dublin.

North West Wales senior coroner Dewi Pritchard Jones at Caernarfon said he had multiple injuries and died immediately on impact.

Emma Truswell, an inspector with the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, said there was an “unstable” fast approach.

She said: "The approach had urgency about it. The pilot was perhaps struggling to control the aircraft.”

Mr Backhouse had reported to air traffic control “pitch control problems” and wanted to divert to Caernarfon as a precaution.

The inquest heard the twin-engined Piper Navajo approached at more than 200mph - twice as fast as it should have been flying - and with the undercarriage up. An examination of the wreckage couldn’t determine the cause of the tragedy.

A conclusion of accidental death was recorded. The coroner said: "The take-off appears to have been perfectly normal. It appears to have been a normal flight until that point not far from Caernarfon airport where he says he has got a pitch problem.

“We haven’t really got evidence of what malfunctioned.”

Mr Pritchard Jones said: "He was having difficulty in keeping the aircraft in a level flight. The nose tended to go down. Exactly what the problem was the AAIB officers have been unable to detect.

“The radio messages don’t really show exactly what the problem was, except it was pitch control.”

The aircraft had been approaching at a steep angle.