A plane which crashed killing a young dad and leaving his father and son seriously injured lost power approaching a runway, an investigation has found.

Truck driver Iain Nuttall, who worked in Clayton-le-Moors, was flying to North Wales with his father John and his five-year-old son, when their plane crashed at Caernarfon Airport, last May.

John, 61, from Haslingden, had been piloting the four-seater aircraft on the flight from Blackpool when it crashed.

Air investigators now say the Piper Cherokee engine did not fail, but found it lost power and there may have been ice on the carburettor.

The plane struck a tree, the report said. Iain, 37, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash on May 19, 2013. The other two survived, but suffered serious injuries.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), reported that the plane was making an approach to Runway 26, at Caernarfon Airport, when it struck a tree at 10.18am.

The report states: “The pilot reported that he had suffered a loss of power at a late stage of the approach and had been unable to reach the airfield.

“The investigation did not find any evidence of a failure within the engine but the atmospheric conditions were conducive to carburettor icing.”

The report said the pilot recalled checking passengers’ seatbelts were fastened before taxiing.

But a post-mortem examination into Mr Nuttall’s death found some evidence to suggest he had not been restrained by either a lap or shoulder harness at the time of the accident, the report said.

It added that the aircraft followed a coastal route before it was seen by witnesses flying ‘very low’ on the final approach.

It added: “The aircraft struck a tree and dropped to the ground in a steep nose-down attitude, just inside the airfield boundary. The radio operator sounded the crash alarm and made an emergency call on the radio to advise all parties of an aircraft accident.”

Experienced pilot John was familiar with the route and the weather conditions were suitable for the flight, the report said.

It added that the engine was producing ‘low or no power at impact’ and that the carburettor heat valve ‘may have been in the cold position at impact’.

Iain, from Blackburn, served with the Kings Own Royal Border Regiment before marrying wife Michelle. He worked as a security guard at Oswaldtwistle Mills and later at Accolade Logistics, Clayton-le-Moors.