Crash Helicopter Registered To McRae

[urbsy]

Crash Helicopter Registered To McRae

Updated: 21:11, Saturday September 15, 2007
A helicopter that crashed in rural Scotland today was registered to rally driver Colin McRae, it has been revealed.

Strathclyde Police said there were no survivors after the aircraft came down near Lanark this afternoon.

Rally driver Colin McRae

It is not known whether the former world rally champion, who has a pilot's licence, was on board.
Police have said extensive damage was done to the twin squirrel helicopter and they were not immediately able to confirm how many people had been travelling in the craft.
There will be no formal identification of any victims this evening.
The air accident investigation team are en route to establish the cause of the crash.
The Scottish Ambulance Service confirmed that its own helicopter was despatched to the scene along with three ambulance crews and units from Strathclyde Fire Brigade.
Sky Correspondent James Matthews said: "My understanding is that the helicopter involved is registered to Colin McRae, the former world rally champion former world rally champion.
"He lives on an estate where this crash took place, the Jervis Wood estate just outside Lanark in the central belt of Scotland.
"All police will say it that they are in touch with the family to try to establish the identity of those on board the helicopter."
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/...284278,00.html

urbsy

[freakzilla]

i think this is true, surely if it wasn't him he would have made an appearance or phoned into sky news or something, i am gutted to be honest he was a great driver and made some decent computer games too.

[ZX7R]

damn.

[pizza-man]

i think this is true, surely if it wasn't him he would have made an appearance or phoned into sky news or something, i am gutted to be honest he was a great driver and made some decent computer games too.

he never made games
he endorsed them

[ZX7R]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/spo...cle2461339.ece

Rally champion Colin McRae dies with son in helicopter crash
Tom Gordon for The Sunday Times

THE former rally driving champion Colin McRae was killed and his five year-old son feared dead in a helicopter crash yesterday afternoon. The aircraft came down in Jerviswood, Lanarkshire, half a mile from the family's home and burst into flames just after 4pm.

Jean-Eric Freudiger, McRae's agent, said the 39-year-old driver had been piloting the helicopter himself. Also on board were believed to be his son Johnny, another adult and another child. Police said there were no survivors.

McRae's wife Alison and their daughter Hollie, 9, were not on board, friends said.

McRae became Britain's first World Rally champion in 1995. He was one of the country's most successful sportsmen, achieving 25 wins in World Rally events and 42 podium places. He was a flamboyant driver, inspiring one the world's best-selling computer rally games.

The helicopter came down within half a mile of McRae's home, Jervis House, a 16th-century tower house, which has an adjacent helipad. The weather had been overcast, with a light breeze, but visibility was good.

Strathclyde police said the extent of the fire damage was making identification a problem.

McRae's wife, a childhood sweetheart and his former co-driver, was taken back to the house under police escort shortly after 6pm. She looked calm, but neighbours gathering outside the house looked shaken with grief.

McRae's friend the rally journalist Jeremy Hart who flew with the champion several times described him as a "very good, very measured pilot whose natural ability with machinery was second to none". "Colin regularly flew all over the UK and into Europe," said Hart. "He knew the terrain and conditions at Jerviswood very well. It was the place he flew into most regularly.

"As a driver Colin was misunderstood slightly as being reckless but everything you saw with him came from pure raw talent as opposed to being learnt. He was the Michael Schumacher of rally driving.

"It's so ironic that he should die in a helicopter crash when he had competed and had brushed with death so many times as a rally driver."

Additional reporting: Paul Lamarra

[Mickey]

I thought he was a great Rally Driver in his time. Sad loss
RIP.

[ZX7R]

facking hell. This guy has started selling pre-printed autographs of Colin an hour ago on ebay! http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Colin-McRae-8-...QQcmdZViewItem

[Freddy]

Waste :/

[pizza-man]

big loss for all i bet

[Gherkin]

Very sad. I remember when he first started. What a driver!

[Mobileman]

Gutted met him a few times and was always very genuine bloke, immensely quick driver with immense talent.

RIP Colin and all those involved.

[Booyakasha]

Very sad news RIP.

[Neo\nsc]

R.I.P Colin

[The Prodigy]

R.I.P Colin, what really upsets me is the fact kids are involved and have had their life's cut devastatingly short At least Colin had a good 39 odd years of life unlike the poor little fella

[SiE]

jeeezus, what a shame. A legend who was mainly responsible for me buying my first subaru.

RIP

[BM]

RIP Colin

[zapiy]

R.I.P

One of the main reasons i got into watching rallying. Will be sadly missed.

[Fusen]

fuck man, majorly guttering news...when I first read it I was like, well there is a chance it isn't him then read the article further down.

such a shame

[WalterPill]

Helicopters are fucking dangerous.

[demonology]

gutted also thoughts go out to family and friends.......

McRae and Burns will be racing in the clouds now