Beautician and husband are killed in mid-air plane crash with another light aircraft after taking flight to mark her 30th birthday near St Petersburg 

• Beautician Arina Bogdanova was killed in a mid-air collision with her husband
• Husband Ivan Kiryashkin, 31, had bought a plane ride for her 30th birthday 
• The couple died when their single-engine Piper Cherokee hit a Cessna-150
• The pilot of their small aircraft, Nikolay Ivanov, 37, was also killed in the crash

A beautician was killed in a mid-air plane collision as she went flying in a light aircraft as a gift to mark her 30th birthday.

Arina Bogdanova died alongside her husband Ivan Kiryashkin, 31, on the short sightseeing flight near Russian city St Petersburg.

Pilot Nikolay Ivanov, 37, was also killed in the crash when their single-engine Piper Cherokee hit a Cessna-150.

Wreckage of the Piper was strewn in the snow close to Gostilitsy airport after it plummeted to the ground from a height of 1,000ft.

The Cessna with only pilot-instructor Valery Kalashnikov on board made a successful emergency landing with propeller and front wheel damage after the collision.

The pilot was hospitalised.

The dead couple had been together ten years and the planned 15-minute light aircraft flight with views over tsarist capital St. Petersburg was a birthday gift from engineer Ivan to his wife.

Its cost was around £50 and they were killed yesterday, on her birthday.

In her final post on social media, talented nail artist Arina had written: 'My 30 year long roller coaster continues. No smart thoughts. We fly further.'

Friends posted their condolences on her account.

Earlier Arina had posted that during the 'uncertainty and chaos' of the Covid-19 year 'we found the time and energy to fulfil our dreams*may the force be with us.'

The planes had taken off one minute apart before the crash which was described by the Russian Investigative Committee as 'head on'.

Both pilots were 'experienced'.

A criminal case has been opened as investigators examine whether there was 'negligence' or 'violation of safety rules' leading to the collision.