This is the man who was at the controls of the doomed Cessna Citation jet when it crashed in Farnborough.

Mike Roberts, 63, of Flight Consultancy Services, was based at Biggin Hill where he took off from on his final flight last Sunday.

A friend of Mr Roberts has said the pilot was ‘a hero’ after his courageous efforts to avoid crashing onto a playing field being used by children.

The plane crashed down in Romsey Close killing all five people on board as it attempted to return to Biggin Hill for an emergency landing after Captain Roberts sent out a mayday call.

Another man on board the jet was 25-year-old Christopher Allarton. His family have issued a statement paying tribute to him and thanking the local community for their support.

They said: “Words can’t express the sadness we all feel at the loss of Christopher. He brought joy and happiness to the lives of all those that he touched. We feel strengthened by the words and messages of support that we have had from hundreds of people. We always knew what a special person Christopher was but the messages from others show us just how much he meant to everybody.

“We would like to pay tribute to the tireless efforts of all of the emergency services involved, and the police support has been superlative. We have been touched by the concern and support expressed by the residents of Broadwater Gardens and Romsey Close in particular. Our hearts go out to the other families affected by this tragedy.

“We want to share our memories of our beautiful boy with people who knew and loved him and feel that anything written should be about our amazing Christopher, and not about our grief at this time.”