London: An Indian-origin flying instructor, Jaspal Barha, was among four persons who died when the Cessna light aircraft he was piloting collided midair with a helicopter on Friday in Buckinghamshire, southeast England.

The crash - with the debris now lodged in thick woods on the grounds of Waddesdon Manor - recalled Shah Rukh Khan's helicopter scene in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham.

Waddesdon Manor is a stately home, which was used as a location in the 2001 film.

In the movie, whose cast also included Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan, Kajol, Hrithik Roshan, Kareena Kapoor and Rani Mukerji, fans of Shah Rukh - the actor plays a character called Rahul - see him arriving home in style by helicopter at the palatial Raichand family residence.

His helicopter departs safely after dropping him off on the extensive grounds of Waddesdon Manor, which was built in the style of a French chateau between 1874 and 1889 for the wealthy Rothschild family.

The venue is now a National Trust property, open to the public and - thanks to the Shah Rukh connection - a favourite for Indian destination weddings.

Crash investigators are trying to work out what happened a couple of days ago when the Guimbal Cabri G2 helicopter, flown by the very experienced Captain Mike Green with an unnamed sightseeing passenger on board, collided at a height of 1,000ft with the Cessna 152 in which 45-year-old Barha was training a student, Saavan Mundae, 18.

Both aircraft, which had been flying all morning, had taken off within minutes of each other around midday from the nearby Wycombe Air Park. Some witnesses said the Cessna was descending when it flew into the helicopter, which was flying in a straight line.

Pictures from the scene show fragments of the helicopter's rotor blades and the plane's fuselage scattered around the woodland floor.

Waddesdon Manor said in a statement: "Lord Rothschild and his family extend their condolences to the families of all affected, and their thanks to the emergency services for their swift response and professionalism."

Staff from the estate helped direct emergency vehicles to the location of the tragedy as police threw a massive cordon around the area to preserve the scene.

Waddesdon Estate gardener Len Bellis described how he found the wreckage minutes after hearing a "horrendous noise". He said the Cessna was "non-existent" but for a 5ft section of burning fuselage.

Two men he met at the scene told him they had heard the plane "stuttering" just before the crash.