What happened
A positioning flight was underway from Stapleford to Southampton to collect passengers for a subsequent multi-leg journey involving Cambridge and Berlin. During the flight, the aircraft, registered as G-SEAS, was operating under instructions from Heathrow Approach. By 0653LT, the pilot had received clearance to fly directly to Ockham, with instructions to remain below 2,000 feet and utilize a QNH of 1011 mb.
Radar monitoring tracked the G-SEAS (operating as STL819) toward Ockham, where it performed a gradual turn to a heading of roughly 185°T. For much of the flight, radar data indicated the aircraft was maintaining a steady speed of about 160 knots at an altitude of 1,500 feet amsl. However, shortly before 0705LT, the aircraft entered a high rate of descent accompanied by increasing speed while continuing on a southerly path. Radar contact was terminated 2.6 seconds after 0705LT. The final radar detection occurred within 250 metres of the impact area, at which time the aircraft was at an altitude of 1,000 feet amsl, while the crash site sits at approximately 400 feet amsl.