One of the two pilots who died when their plane crashed into the Firth of Forth shortly after take off came from Abingdon, it has been revealed.

The bodies of Russell Dixon, 29, of Welford Gardens, Abingdon, and Karl Mason, 58, of Bellevue Crescent, Ayr, were recovered from the icy water by divers on Tuesday night.

They died when the Royal Mail plane plunged into the estuary shortly after taking off from Edinburgh Airport at 5.20pm on Monday. Air accident investigators were today trying to discover exactly why the Loganair twin-engined plane ditched.

Mr Dixon sold his motorcycle for £8,000 to help pay for flying courses at Oxford Airport, Kidlington.

He earned his private pilot's licence three months ago and joined Loganair, a British Airways subsidiary, to build up his hours so that he could apply to join one of the main airlines.

His father, Barry, said today: "He put all his efforts into flying. He achieved his dream but tragically, it was a dream that led to his death."

The crew issued a mayday call citing a double engine failure minutes before crashing 100 metres from the shoreline near Granton harbour, Lothian and Borders Police said.

Operator Loganair said the 20-seater Shorts 360 plane was on a Royal Mail charter flight to Belfast and was carrying no passengers.

Debris from the plane was found on the shoreline, while a 15ft section of the white fuselage and its red tail section could be seen sticking out of the water as rescuers arrived.

Eyewitnesses reported seeing flashing lights in the sky and debris floating in the water.