Missing pilot is from Douglas

A pilot who went missing on Thursday after taking off from Ronaldsway Airport is from the Isle of Man.

Lancashire Police have confirmed his identity as 73-year-old Ian Stirling who's from Douglas.

Mr Stirling was flying a single-engine Rockwell Commander to Blackpool when contact was lost just after 9am - it’s believed he was around three miles off the coast over the Irish Sea.

In a statement from his family they describe him as an “experienced pilot” who had flown the route many times adding they are “hoping against hope” that he will be found alive

The Air Accident Investigation Branch has launched an investigation.