Heartbreak of wife over plane crash

He had dreamed of flying a jet plane since he was a boy.

So Gary Clark, the millionaire owner of a computer firm, was overjoyed when two fellow enthusiasts agreed to chip in with him to buy a vintage aircraft.

But the novice pilot's adventure ended in tragedy when the brakes of the £165,000 L-39 jet failed as he attempted to land.

Mr Clark, 46, ejected as the plane left the runway at 100mph and careered across the M11 near Cambridge, forcing cars to brake and dodge. His parachute failed to open in time and he died after landing in a field.

Now his widow, who is caring for their three children, is suing the instructor who was with him in the jet.

Tina Clark, 32, blames lax training and poor safety regulations for her husband's death nearly two years ago. She is also seeking High Court approval to re-open the original investigation into the accident.

She said: "I really wish it had been a freak accident, then I could sleep better at night knowing no one else will die. But I know it will happen again... It's a question of when and not if.

"Flying was a life-long dream for Gary and he had only been taking lessons for about six weeks. I don't want anyone else to die in the circumstances he did."

Mrs Clark is suing both instructor Andy Gent - who stayed in the plane as it crashed out of the Imperial War Museum airfield at Duxford on to the M11 and survived - and the firm that employs him, RocketSeat. She said: "I'm not out to get the instructor. I just want recommendations to be made to the Civil Aviation Authority to tighten regulations."

Mrs Clark, of Potters Bar, described how their children James, eight, Katerina, six, and Jessica, two, are still struggling to come to terms with their father's death. She said: "My son keeps coming into the bedroom, clutching his chest and saying, 'My heart hurts so much, I miss my Daddy, I need to see him'.

"My children are finding it very hard and I am struggling to come to terms with it myself. I couldn't even get rid of Gary's car because I thought he would come home."

The couple had been married for seven years after meeting in Washington DC, where US-born Mrs Clark worked as a hotel concierge.

An inquest last October found her husband died through misadventure. But it threw up evidence that Mrs Clark claims sheds new light on the original Air Accident Investigation Board inquiry.

The board, whose findings last July were inconclusive, has refused to re-open its inquiry. The High Court will now decide whether the case deserves a judicial review.

Mrs Clark's solicitor Desmond Collins said civil action was at an early stage. But he added: "Mr Clark was a young man who was earning a lot of money, so one would expect a compensation claim to be fairly considerable."

RocketSeat owner David Hayes said: "Flying instructors are approved and qualified by the Civil Aviation Authority. I'm not going to comment on anything to do with Gary Clark."