Tragic flight was festive gift
The flight that ended in tragedy when a light aircraft crashed killing three people in Staffordshire was booked as a Christmas gift for one of the victims.
Passengers Nick and Emma O'Brien, of Shirley, Solihull, who married last summer, died in the plane crash, along with the pilot, which closed one of the country's busiest rail routes on Friday just before midday.
The crash happened on the West Coast Mainline at Little Haywood, near Stafford.
Wolves fan Mr O'Brien, aged 35, had booked the flight as a present for his 29-year-old wife Emma. The couple had two sons, Callum, 10, and 18-month-old Joel.
It is understood that the pilot of the Piper Cherokee plane, Alan Matthews, of Walsall Wood, knew Mr O'Brien through his work with a Birmingham-based demolition firm.
Today the dead couple's family dismissed reports they were expecting a baby.
It had been rumoured they were expecting a third child but in a statement issued through the British Transport Police (BTP), the couple's family denied such claims.
They said: "Emma was not pregnant at the time of the accident and reports which have made this claim are wholly incorrect. This misinformation has caused considerable distress to the family."
A tribute page has been set up to the couple on social networking site Facebook.
Kelly Fox wrote: "My thoughts and prayers go out to all the family. It has shocked our family so much, and I will always be thinking of you all. May they both Rest in Peace. x X x"
Mr Matthews, a member of a flying club based near Lichfield, Staffordshire, was said by friends to be a well-liked and proficient pilot.
