CIRENCESTER stuntwoman Jacqueline Balmer and her businessman husband James died when their light aircraft crashed into a French mountain in low cloud, an inquest heard today.

James Balmer, owner of men’s clothes shop R Scott & Co in Cirencester, was an experienced pilot who tried to pull up at the last second when a silent alarm triggered due to the imminent collision.

But an aviation expert said he probably saw the warning signals too late to avoid impacting into the side of Mont Agel in the south of France.

Mrs Balmer, who was better known by her stage name Jacquie de Creed, had been returning to the UK from Lucca in Italy with her husband at the time of the crash on June 17, 2011. The couple had been married for 22 years.

The inquest heard Mr Balmer, who had over 5,000 hours of flying experience, had been redirected.

As the couple approached Monaco, Mr Balmer was given an alternate route to follow by French air traffic control.

The route took the couple into low cloud and close to the high terrain of Mont Agel.

Timothy Atkinson, an aviation expert, explained to the court that 90 seconds before impact Mr Balmer lost radio contact with French air traffic control.

A silent warning device installed in the plane may have alerted Mr Balmer to the nearby mountain, he said.

Mr Atkinson said: “Shortly before impact, for reasons which could not be determined, the pilot began an aggressive climb.

“The climb was insufficient to clear the high ground and the aircraft impacted the southern slopes of Mont Agel with force.”

James and Jacqueline Balmer received overwhelming multiple injuries, causing almost instant death.

The couple had been flying in their own plane that had just passed a complete safety check.

“Mr Balmer’s aircraft was a suitable aircraft for the flight,” said Mr Atkinson.

“The investigation did not identify any technical malfunction or failure which might be relevant to the accident.”

Charlotte Balmer, one of the couple’s daughters, gave evidence during the hearing in which she described her parents as fit and healthy.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, assistant deputy Gloucestershre coroner Katy Skerrett said it had been “a tragic accident with enormous consequences”.

She said: “The climb was insufficient to clear the high ground and that caused the aircraft to impact with force causing instantaneous injuries and almost very instantaneous death.”

Jacquie de Creed became a household name in the 1980s after setting the record for Long Distance Car Ramp Jump – she travelled 71m through the air in a specially adapted Ford Mustang.