The flying experience of a pilot who crashed while performing an aerobatic manoeuvre at an air display did not contribute to his accidental death, an inquest jury has concluded.

Kevin Whyman, 39, lost control of an ex-military Folland Gnat jet trainer at the CarFest North event in Oulton Park, Cheshire, and crashed in a wooded area one mile north of the festival site.

The former RAF officer sustained multiple injuries from the impact shortly after 1pm on August 1 2015 and was pronounced dead at the scene.

He was one of two pilots in the Gnat Display Team executing a 360-degree manoeuvre, known as an aileron roll, for the crowd at a charity weekend organised by broadcaster Chris Evans to raise funds for BBC Children in Need.

Mr Whyman's aircraft was into its second roll when it reached an angle of bank of 107 degrees to the left and the nose of the jet dropped unexpectedly.

Air investigators told an inquest at Warrington Town Hall that Mr Whyman had attempted to reverse the direction of the roll and that the situation was "probably recoverable" at that point.

But the inspectors at the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said Mr Whyman then applied "a large pitch input" which they said was "inappropriately timed".

This led to an increase in the rate of descent which caused the aircraft to go out of control, said the AAIB.

The investigators also thought that Mr Whyman's level of experience probably contributed to the outcome.

Mr Whyman had kept up his flying when he left the RAF in 2000 for a job in the City of London, the court heard.

He had a total of 218 hours of flying time in the Folland Gnat over 11 years and 12 hours per year in the previous five years on average, the inquest was told.

His logbook recorded a total of 418 hours as a pilot in command in all aircraft - which classed him as "intermediate" by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), rather than the 450 hours required to be termed as "experienced".

Summing up the evidence to the jury of five women and four men, Alan Moore, the Senior Coroner for Cheshire, said the question of experience was more subjective and "a bit of a grey area", in contrast to the technical matters.

Mr Whyman, managing director at Credit Suisse based at Canary Wharf, was "not far off" falling into the CAA's category of experienced, said Mr Moore.

He told jurors that that they could make a record of Mr Whyman's experience, or any any other factor, if they thought it probably played a part in his death.

Recording a conclusion of accidental death, the jury stated: "It is more likely than not that Mr Whyman used an appropriate technique to try and recover the situation.

"When faced with a time-critical situation it is more likely than not that an inappropriately-timed pitch input contributed to the outcome and made the situation unrecoverable."

Mr Moore offered his condolences to Mr Whyman's parents, Robin and Pat, and told them: "Hearing about Kevin, I would have been delighted to have met him personally if I had had the opportunity."

Mr Whyman's wife Alexandra, 36, a financial analyst at Morgan Stanley, did not attend the inquest.

The couple had a young daughter and Mrs Whyman, who was pregnant at the time of the accident, later gave birth to their second daughter.

Robin and Pat Whyman paid tribute to their son, Kevin, 39, nicknamed "Jester" by his flying colleagues.

Chester-born Mr Whyman attended The King's School in his home city before he went on to gain an economics degree at Peterhouse, Cambridge University.

He joined the university's air squadron and boat club, where he earned a double blue as he coxed Cambridge to victory in the 1996 and 1997 boat races against Oxford.

He later went into the RAF before he left in 2000 to work in high finance in the City of London and was employed as a managing director at Credit Suisse at the time of his death.

In a statement issued after the inquest, Mr and Mrs Whyman, from Chester, said: "The past 21 months have proven extremely difficult for the Whyman family.

"Kevin is sorely missed by his parents, wife, sister, brother-in-law and (their) grandchildren here in the UK, and by his aunt and her Canadian family in Calgary, Alberta.

"Numerous tributes have been paid to him by a wide range of his former friends and colleagues, several of whom have commented that they have never known anyone else with such energy and zest for life, nor with so much ability to make the most of any opportunity.

"He was invariably welcomed as the life and soul of any gathering, has been referred to as a legend, a hero and an inspiration to others, and a kind and talented man who has been an honour and a privilege to have known.

"He has achieved more in his short life than most of us would in several lifetimes.

"Although ambitious and driven, he also had a humble side with the ability to temper his successes by being a loyal, considerate and generous friend. He was also a keen supporter of charitable causes.

"He has influenced many people in various walks of life becoming almost a household name in the very different worlds of rowing, finance and aviation, and will be fondly remembered.

"Latterly, his great enjoyments in life were his young family and his passion for aerobatic flying.

"We hope that his legacy will live on, not only as a source of inspiration to others but also to serve as an example of what it is possible to achieve through hard work, dedication, application and perseverance.

"As his parents we have been extremely proud of his achievements and although we miss him greatly we have very many happy memories of his short lifetime upon which to reflect."