IRISH relatives of an Almondsbury family killed in a plane crash raised the alarm six hours after the pilot last contacted air traffic control.

Accident investigators have released a "preliminary report" into the crash, which killed Sharif Booz, 43, his wife Margaret, and their son, Ayman, 14.

Also killed in the tragedy on October 25 was Ayman's friend Charlie Froud. Charlie and Ayman both attended Marlwood School in Alveston, near Thornbury.

The four had been travelling in a Cherokee light aircraft, flown by Mr Booz, an experienced pilot, when it crashed into the Corriebracks Mountain in County Wicklow.

Apparently, the pilot made contact with Dublin Air Traffic Control at 11.17am on the Saturday when the plane was 24 miles from Kilrush and requested to close his flight plan.

No further transmissions were received from the plane after this. The report says the alarm was not raised for another six hours, by relatives in Ireland awaiting their arrival.

The Air Accidents Investigation Team report said a more thorough investigation was now taking place into all aspects of the flight, including weather conditions. A final report will be published at a later date.

The family was travelling to a holiday retreat in Mrs Booz's hometown of Newbridge in County Kildare when their Piper PA-28 ran into trouble and nosedived into the mountainside.

The day after the crash, a moving memorial service was held in Almondsbury for the four with more than 500 people packing into St Mary's Church to pay their respects.

One month on, the Irish Air Accidents Investigation Team released a preliminary report into the tragedy.

The report confirms the plane set off from Gloucestershire Airport on Saturday, October 25 at 8.57am heading for Kilrush Airport in County Kildare, Ireland.

The report said: "While an Air Traffic Control flight plan was filed on the day of the accident, the pilot did not advise Kilrush Airfield of the date or estimated time of his arrival, and therefore was not expected.

"In addition, having closed his flight plan during flight, there was no longer a requirement for the pilot to make telephone contact with Air Traffic Control to confirm his safe arrival, nor was there a requirement for Air Traffic Control to confirm his actual arrival at Kilrush."

The light aircraft was not found until 9.10am on Sunday, October 26. All four passengers were found, but were fatally injured, the report also said.

Sammi Booz, 20, who is an architecture student at Nottingham University, lost his parents and brother in the crash. Nephew Yousef said his uncle Sharif was an experienced pilot and a "lovely person who was well-known in the community".

Jackie Lamb, 46, from Almondsbury, said her son Nikolai, 15, and Ayman were close friends.

After the funeral she said: "Ayman used to come over to our house all the time. He was full of life and always energetic. Most of us still feel a tremendous shock at what's happened."