A pilot has paid tribute to "two brilliant friends" who died in a tragic plane crash in the French Alps.
Richard Pike, director of Northumberland-based Purple Aviation, based in Felton, Northumberland, said the expedition from Newcastle to Malta was meant to be "the trip of a lifetime".
Instead, a plane belonging to the company, which flies out of Eshott Airfield crashed in a "tragic accident" over the Maddalena Pass, near the French-Italian border, killing its pilot and one passenger.
One of the men killed was 37-year-old Andrew Buck, from Seaham . The second man, who was reportedly 18 years old, has not yet been named.
A second plane underwent a "forced landing", and the pilot is not believed to have been seriously injured.
At the airfield near Felton, Northumberland, where the expedition began, a flag flew at half mast on Wednesday.
In a statement posted on Facebook on Wednesday night, Purple Aviation said the planes had not crashed into each other, and that the pilot of the first aircraft to crash had "walked away from the wreckage unharmed"
In the statement, a spokesperson for the company extended "deepest sympathies" to the family of the pair killed.
It said: "We have been overwhelmed with messages of support throughout the day and would like to thank everyone who has tried to help us."
The expedition, which included company directors Richard Pike and Sam Woodgate, involved flying three specially restored monoplanes from Northumberland to Malta in a series of stages.
Richard said: “This was a group of experienced pilots and close friends embarking on the trip of a lifetime, which has been planned over the last year.”
The trip had set out from Eshott Airfield in Northumberland on Sunday, scheduled to reach Malta next Saturday.
The pilot who died was flying an aircraft loaned by Purple Aviation as part of the support network for the trip.
The passenger in the plane, who was also killed in the crash, was described as "another close friend".
Richard said: “Everyone involved has been devastated by this tragic accident.
“We’d like to pass on our sincere condolences to the families of those who died. We have lost two brilliant friends today."
French aviation authorities are now investigating the crash, and the director said they had been provided with footage from the flight.
