The plane was the privately-owned General Aviation Cirrus SR22, based at Duxford.

IWM Duxford was due to remain closed to the public on Wednesday and Thursday.

A spokesperson from IWM said: “Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this incredibly difficult time.

A man who died after a private plane crashed at a well-known airfield has been named by friends and colleagues as pilot Simon Riggs.

Emergency services were called to Imperial War Museum (IWM) Duxford, Cambridgeshire, at about 13:41 GMT on Tuesday.

The victim, aged in his 50s and from Bedfordshire, was pronounced dead at the scene.

There were no passengers and the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) has launched an investigation.

“Cambridgeshire Police has informed the next of kin, who attended the scene of the accident yesterday."

An East of England Ambulance Service spokesman said: "Sadly, despite the best efforts of all emergency services involved, a man was pronounced dead at the scene.”

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service said several of its crews attended.

An AAIB spokesperson said: "A multi-disciplinary team of AAIB inspectors has deployed to Duxford, Cambridgeshire, to begin investigating an accident involving a light aircraft."