Just been watching some rally footage of Colin McRae.It is just over 10 since his untimely death,the guy in the subaru was just awesome surely one of the greatest drivers of all time.what a great car the Impreza was.
Defo the business alright.Check out Simon McKinley white Escort for some really good old school rallying.Sadly died in car crash also.No 4 wheel drive there !!
Sadly, his skills and judgement as a helicopter pilot weren’t anywhere near as good.
Quite.
Just pushed the envelope too far that day.
I was in the vicinity. Local word from watchers was he engaged the chopper beyond acceptable limits.
Just as well for him frankly, having had a young lad as a passenger, that he could not be sued from the grave.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t just that he pushed the envelope too far that day.
The formal accident (AAIB) report makes very interesting reading. He didn’t have a valid helicopter licence (and had been warned about other transgressions regarding testing/licensing before). He also took part in illegal low flying earlier in the fatal flight before finally losing control, having flown “into a corner” from which there was no chance of recovery. He also tragically took a neighbour’s child along, without the lad’s parental knowledge, resulting in his death.
It caused no small amount of irritation and anger in the professional helicopter world because accidents such as that lead the general public to believe that helicopters are inherently dangerous.
Yeah Paul, I know. I chose to be a bit kinder than my usual over the tragedy.
Of all, my thoughts were for the boy’s family first.
Yes, understandable. Tragic for everyone involved but totally avoidable.