Helicopter registered to McRae has crashed...

[madgaz]

...no survivors apparently :'(

Hope to god McRae wasn't in there...it's bad enough anybody been there but it would be a bigger loss if Colin McRae was :'(

Only thing that is on the news so far is that a 'helicopter registered to Colin McRae has crashed in North Lanarkshire. There are no suvivors'.

[madgaz]

From BBC News :'( :'( :'(

Two people are believed to have died in a helicopter crash near the Lanarkshire home of former World Rally Champion Colin McRae.
The helicopter came down at 1610 BST in Jervis Wood, about a mile from Lanark, and is understood to have caught fire.

Strathclyde Police said there were no survivors and that no further details about the victims would be released until Sunday.

Mr McRae, 39, is known to be a keen helicopter pilot.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said it had been led to believe two people were on board the Squirrel aircraft.

  The damage has been so bad that we don't know how many people were on board

Strathclyde Police spokeswoman

However, Strathclyde Police said the helicopter damage was so bad they could not confirm how many were involved.

A police statement said: "Around 1610 BST on Saturday, 15 September 2007, emergency services were called to a helicopter crash in Jerviswood, east of the A73 at Lanark.

"There are no survivors.

"It is not known how many people were on board at this time and there will be no formal identification of anyone on board this evening."

The statement added that the air accident investigation team was on its way to Scotland to establish the cause of the crash.

 
The accident happened near Colin McRae's property

The Scottish Ambulance Service confirmed that its own helicopter had been despatched to the scene along with three ambulance crews.

Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Service also has units in attendance at the scene.

The RAF spokesman said the incident did not involve a military aircraft and added that its helicopter was on stand-by to assist.

A spokesman for the British Airports Authority said the helicopter did not come from Glasgow or Edinburgh Airports.

The Strathclyde Police spokeswoman said officers were trying to establish who was on board and where the helicopter was travelling to and from.

"The damage has been so bad that we don't know how many people were on board," she said.

"It might be one, it might be more. We just don't know at the moment."

[The Doctor]

"Former world rally champion Colin McRae is believed to have been killed along with three others in a helicopter crash near his home in Lanarkshire."BBC News


A sad day for rallying and my thoughts go out to Colin`s family.Thanks for all fun you have given us Colin :'(

[paul_gt4]

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."

RIP my man and the others involved, he brought alot of memories and he'll be especially remembered by myself racing the roads of donegal in a metro 6r4 2yrs ago...... has to be said he made subaru what they are today

[Cee]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/6997134.stm

OMG - this is so sad and such a shame  - my thoughts are with his family

C

[dawesy]

not good at all. another loss of a great British driver.
although it still isn't confirmed it really dosnt look good.
RIP coilin

[Coyoteboy]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/article2461339.ece

Thats aweful news, such a talent with so little ego, and a sprog too. I would have thought that if it wasnt him we'd know by now. A sad day and a loss to the world.

[CamoGT4]

R.I.P Colin, my thoughts are with his family and friends

[Driveby]

Devastating news. RIP a rallying legend.

[Rob_A]

RIP

He will live on, both in reputation and in the minds of those who saw him rally

[madgaz]

I'm devastated by this news :'(

I've been at an exhibition all weekend but today I've been sat on top of the radio listening and hoping for the best :'(

My thoughs are with Colin's and also his friends family as it is such a tragic loss :'(
The motorsports world will be different without Colin McRae.
He's been an inspiration to me and many many more without a doubt.

Rest in Peace Colin :'(

[ChrisW]

Indeed a sad day for the rally world and Colin's family and friends.

RIP

[AndyS]

Dave Richards (prodrive) crashed his helicopter yesterday on his way back from the Spa F1 race. both him and his wife walked away from it tho.

[Redbeast]

A sad day for rallying and for the families. 

I hope you give God the ride of his life on Heaven's forest stages.

[Coyoteboy]

And just to be even more freaky - his ex boss, on his way home in a chopper also suffered transmission failure and crash landed in a field. Now thats taking coincidence to the limits.