Pilot killed in plane crash 'was heart of family'

A woman killed in a light aircraft crash was a "deeply devoted and loving mother" with an "adventurous spirit", her family have said.

Nicola Wright, 44, from Dorset, died on 26 June after the plane she was flying crashed near to Dunkeswell Airfield, in Devon.

Her family said: "She was the heart of the family and will be missed beyond words.

"Nicola was an incredible mother to her four children, a wife, daughter, sister and much-loved friend to many," they said. No-one else was onboard the aircraft.

Her family said: "She was a positive, brave and determined person who lived life with an adventurous spirit."

They said she was an "accomplished aerobatic pilot, skydiver, diver and mountaineer" who had climbed Mount Kilimanjaro earlier in 2026, and approached everything with "passion and courage".

"Nicola was HR director at Medisave, a global medical and pharmaceutical distributor, and was a vital part of building Medisave alongside the founders, Graham Wright, her husband and Melissa Denton her longtime friend."

The family said: "Her four young children were everything to her, and she has shaped who they are in every way, they are devastated for the loss of their beautiful mother.

"Nicola was, quite simply, an amazing woman."

The British Women's Pilots' Association said it was "deeply saddened" by her death.

"Our thoughts are with her family, friends and all those affected."

Devon and Cornwall Police said it was working with the Air Accidents Investigation Branch to look into the crash and asked for no speculation about the circumstances of the accident while investigations were ongoing.

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