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A scientist dubbed ‘the human swan’ for flying around Britain in a motorised paraglider has been seriously injured in a horror mid-air crash in which another flier died.
Sacha Dench plummeted from the sky during her 3,000-mile journey after colliding with a member of her support crew.
Dan Burton, 54, who was in a separate paramotor, died and Miss Dench, 43, remains in hospital after suffering serious injuries.
The biologist – a relative of Dame Judi Dench – gained her nickname after raising awareness of the plight of Bewick’s swans by flying from the Russian Arctic to the UK.
She also set a world record in 2016 by being the first woman to cross the Channel by paramotor.
Miss Dench and Mr Burton were trying to complete a circumnavigation of the country as part of the Round Britain Climate Challenge and were in the final stages when disaster struck.
Scientist and paraglider Sacha Dench (pictured) plummeted from the sky on a 3,000-mile journey and record attempt around the UK after colliding with Dan Burton, a member of her support crew who died during the crash in the Scottish Highlands
Pictured: Paraglider pilot Dan Burton, 54, who was killed in a crash near Unapool in the Scottish Highlands this weekend
They aimed to fly around the country in wind and green electricity powered paramotors ahead of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in November.
A final photo taken by Mr Burton and shared on his Facebook at around 8am on Saturday shows
