This is the first picture of a couple killed in a helicopter crash on the Isle of Wight.
Horse riding instructor Justyna Czoska, 52, and lorry driver Wojtek Kowalkowski, 49, died when the helicopter came down in a field near Ventnor on the south of the island close to the seaside town of Shanklin at around 9.20am on Bank Holiday Monday.
The couple from Bloxham, Oxfordshire, had travelled to the island so Mr Kowalkowski could have a flying lesson – something he had always dreamed of.
It had taken off from Sandown Airport 20 minutes earlier.
Miss Czoska’s daughter Julia Buzar, 22, spoke to her mother just moments before she boarded.
She received a knock on the door a short time at her mother’s house where she was looking after he dog from police tell her the helicopter had crashed.
Miss Buzar’s partner Jacob Butler, who has set up a GoFundMe page to pay for the couple’s bodies to be taken back to their native Poland, said Ms Czoska was ‘an amazing woman’.
‘She was such a great person with a big heart,’ he said. ‘An amazing, kind loving person.’
Justyna Czoska, 52, and lorry driver Wojtek Kowalkowski, 49, right and far right, who were killed. Pictured with Ms Czoska’s daughter Julia who was not on board.
Pictures of the aftermath of the crash show the helicopter came down in a hedgerow
He said Miss Buzar was ‘devastated’ struggling to come to terms with what had happened. He said all the family including Miss Buzar had ‘chipped in’ so Mr Kowalkowski could have a flying lesson.
One other person also died while a fourth was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
Writing on GoFundMe, he added: ‘On August 25th, my partners beloved mum and her partner tragically lost their lives in a helicopter crash on the Isle of Wight. This sudden and devastating event has left all us heartbroken and struggling to cope with the loss.
‘We are now trying to bring them both back to Poland so they can be laid to rest with their families, in the place they called home.
‘The cost of repatriation, funeral arrangements, and travel is more than we can manage alone, and we are asking for support during this incredibly difficult time.
Any donation, no matter how small, will help us give them the farewell they deserve. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your kindness, support, and for keeping our family in your thoughts.’
More to follow.
