“They were, honestly, the best neighbours I've ever had"
A retired businessman and his wife who died when their light aircraft crashed in Snowdonia have been remembered as “the best of neighbours and the kindest of people”.
Ketan Swali and his wife Sheetal died after the Piper Warrior they had rented from a flying club in Staffordshire crashed near Trawsfynydd, North Wales, on August 14.
The couple, from Syston, Leicestershire, had been looking forward to spending more time flying after Mr Swali retired from the family manufacturing business he had run for decades.
The aircraft disappeared from radar while flying towards Caernarfon Airport at around midday.
Coastguards alerted police, who described the subsequent search as challenging before wreckage was discovered in a remote location.
A hearing at Caernarfon was told both Mr and Mrs Swali died from major impact trauma, according to provisional post-mortem results.
Friends and neighbours have since paid tribute to the couple, who are understood to have two daughters.
Susan Watson told the Daily Mail: “They were, honestly, the best neighbours I’ve ever had in my life bar none.
“They were so kind, so friendly, so helpful and so loving. Whenever I think of them, I can’t stop crying.”
Mr Swali was an engineer who had recently retired after closing Arc Euro Trade Ltd, his nearby business which manufactured machinery such as lathes and employed around five people.
Mr Swali’s passion for flying was also well known in the local community. He had completed his pilot training and was described by neighbours as thorough in everything he did.
Mrs Watson said: “We knew they liked to fly.
“It was something they did on a regular basis and something Ketan was looking forward to having recently retired. He was a pilot and had done all the courses.
“Everything he did was thorough so we can’t imagine what could have gone wrong. There were no half measures with him.
“When I got the news I just burst into tears.”
She also spoke about the impact of the tragedy on the couple’s daughters.
Mrs Watson said: “I lost my own dad in an accident when I was 15, so I know the pain of sudden loss, but to lose both your mum and dad at once is too much.
“They were a beautiful family, the best you could get.”
Another neighbour said: “They were lovely people.”
The inquest heard that the aircraft had been rented from Sherwood Flying Club, based at Tatenhill airfield near Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire.
A photograph posted on the flying club’s Facebook page in July 2023 showed Mr Swali smiling in front of a similar Piper aircraft.
The caption read: “Congratulations to Ketan Swali on performing his first solo flight today, a great achievement!”
His retirement had also marked the end of his involvement in Arc Euro Trade Ltd. In a forum post last year, Mr Swali said the company was “closing the engineering tools and machinery part of the business” after initially hoping to find a buyer.
He added that the firm was “financially sound and reason for closing is that I wish to retire”, followed by a smiley face emoji.
The North West Wales inquest has been adjourned while the Air Accidents Investigation Branch investigates the crash.
Assistant coroner Sarah Riley offered her condolences to the Swali family:
“Condolences to you all.
“To lose Mr and Mrs Swali together, I’m sure, is devastating. My thoughts are with you at this difficult time.”
