The inquests into two men killed in a plane crash near Littleborough have formally opened at Rochdale Coroner's Court. Arian Abbasi, 36, and Mustafa Qays Obadey, 39, died when their light aircraft crashed on moorland near Blackstone Edge on February 3.
Assistant Coroner Michael Salt was told that Mr Abbasi, a pilot from Harrow, London, was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1989. He lived with his wife and worked as a pilot. Mr Obadey, a passenger from Greenford, west London, was born in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1986 and was self-employed as an interior designer.
No cause of death has been established for either man due to ongoing investigations by Greater Manchester Police and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Branch. Pre-inquest review hearings have been scheduled for July 6, 2026, for Mr Obadey and June 8, 2026, for Mr Abbasi.
The court heard that both men were identified via their fingerprints. The aircraft, a Cirrus SR20, took off from Birmingham Airport and flew for around 40 minutes before the last signal was received near Marsden, West Yorkshire. A yellow parachute from the aircraft's ballistic recovery system was seen caught on a pylon, and police are investigating its deployment.
Tributes from families described Mr Abbasi as a 'deeply loving father and devoted husband' who was about to start a new job with a commercial airline. Mr Obadey was called 'the glue of the family and community' and 'the most humble, kind man you'll ever meet'.
