A businessman died when his helicopter crashed as he attempted an emergency landing, an inquest heard.

Experienced pilot Tony Sullivan was taking a short flight in his own aircraft when the tragedy happened.

Mr Sullivan, 69, was at the controls of his Robinson R22 Beta two-seater when it is thought to have developed engine trouble. He tried to bring it down safely on farmland near his home in Woodford, Stockport.

But he may not have seen a slight slope and the tail rotor blade struck the ground causing him to lose control and the aircraft to crash, the inquest jury at Warrington heard.

The father of four, a managing director of his own engineering company, Corserve, and a ‘tireless’ charity worker, suffered massive head and chest injuries and died at the scene.

Mr Sullivan’s son Paul, also an amateur helicopter pilot from Lymm, Cheshire, said his father was a ‘very, very careful’ pilot.

Witnesses who saw the helicopter moments before the crash described hearing noises from the engine before it disappeared from view.

David Cusworth, a passing motorist, heard the engine noise, describing it as ‘mechanically repetitive’. He said: "It started making this noise then it sharply broke to the left and as it did so it was descending. I heard a bang and then I could hear rotor blades chopping."

Mark Jarvis, a senior investigator for the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, told the jury the helicopter had been maintained in accordance with procedures.

He added that the left magneto, a part of the helicopter’s ignition system, had suffered corrosion after rain water leaked into it.

Mr Sullivan kept the aircraft outdoors although he occasionally covered it. The problem with the magneto could have led to engine trouble, Mr Jarvis said.

The jury returned a unanimous verdict of accidental death.

Speaking after the hearing, Paul Sullivan said: "We remember him for all the good he did and the great support he gave his family throughout his life."

In addition to being a trustee of Cliff College, an evangelical bible college, Mr Sullivan established a men’s Christian group in Woodford.