Copter crash near McRae property

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 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."

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/6996860.stm

 

Please don't yet it be Colin.

Rally ace McRae feared dead in helicopter horror

 

Rally ace McRae feared dead in helicopter horror

 

By JANE SIMPSON and PATRICIA KANE - More by this author » Last updated at 21:22pm on 15th September 2007 Comments

Colin McRae: fears are growing after the helicopter registered in his name crashed on his estate

 

 

 

 

World rally star Colin McRae and his young son were feared dead after his helicopter crashed and exploded near his Scottish home.

The 39-year-old driver was thought to be at the controls of the French-built Squirrel helicopter with his son Johnny, five, as a passenger when it crashed a mile from the family farm in Lanarkshire just after 4pm.

Police confirmed that at least one person had died but said the helicopter was so badly damaged by fire that they were not immediately able to confirm how many people were on board.

The ambulance service said they had not been asked to attend to any casualties and had been asked to stand down soon after the crash.

Sources close to the family said they believed Colin and his son had both died.

McRae, the 1995 world rally champion who became known to millions after lending his name to a top-selling series of computer games, is a qualified pilot and regularly flew the helicopter from his home, Jerviswood Farm, just outside the town of Lanark.

It is believed he was on his way to Glasgow when the helicopter came down.

Mr McRae is married to Alison and is also father to eight-year-old Hollie.

It is understood Mrs McRae – his childhood sweetheart and co-driver in the early days of his career – was away horse-riding at the time of the tragedy and only learned of the news when she returned home at 6.30pm.

 

Scroll down to watch Colin McRae in action

Mr McRae was born in Lanark but moved to Monaco in 1995. However, he had recently been spending more time in Scotland to raise his young family.

Strathclyde Police said they received an emergency call at 4.10pm to say a helicopter had come down in a rural wooded area east of the A73 at Lanark, close to the River Clyde.

A spokesman said: "There is believed to be at least one confirmed fatality, the pilot. An air accident investigation team is on its way but we do not think we will immediately be able to establish how many people were on board or how many bodies there actually are because of the extensive fire damage.

"It could be some time before official identifications are made."

Police cordoned off the quiet country lane leading to Mr McRae's farmhouse in the hours after the accident to protect the family's privacy. The driver's aunt collapsed at the cordon after hearing of the accident.

One neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: "It is just an awful tragedy.

"Colin was a devoted dad and a real family man. He came back to Scotland to give his son and daughter the stability of a Scottish upbringing.

"He doted on both his kids and his death will be a real blow to a lot of people.

"He is really going to be missed. Our thoughts go out to his family."

Mr McRae was regarded as Britian's most successful rally driver of his generation, earning an estimated £3.5 million a year under his contract with Ford.

He started off in the family heating and plumbing business and, despite becoming his global success, used to joke that he still knew enough about the trade to earn a living should his dream career ever end.

The son of five-times British Rally Champion, Jimmy McRae, Colin started his career in 1986, when he drove a Talbot Sunbeam.

His first outright rally victory came in 1988 at the Tweedies Rally near Dumfries. He won the world driver's title in 1995, was championship runner-up in 1996, 1997 and 2001, and came third in 2003.

He was awarded the MBE by the Queen in 1996.

Beat you :P

Colin McRae? :o

Beat you :P

 

Mine's a far better and more accurate report, though.:smug:

Woww...

 

I used to have his playstation game.

Four people have been killed in a helicopter crash near the Lanarkshire home of former World Rally Champion Colin McRae.

 

The helicopter came down at 1610 BST in Jerviswood, about a mile from Lanark, and is understood to have caught fire.

 

Strathclyde Police said the Squirrel aircraft was believed to be owned by Colin McRae, 39, who is thought to have been onboard.

 

However they said formal identification still had to be carried out.

Well let's hope its not him!

I think we can say it's him, its his registered helichopper and we haven't heard from him since the accident. RIP

RIP :(

oh no...

My god, this is awful... :confused:

Two children on McRae helicopter

 

Rally champion Colin McRae, his five-year-old son, a six-year-old boy and a family friend were killed in a helicopter crash, police believe.

Strathclyde Police released the names of the four people they thought were on board the crashed aircraft on Saturday.

 

 

Mr McRae, 39, his son Johnny, the youngster's friend Ben Porcelli and family friend Graeme Duncan, 37, were all thought to be on board.

 

Formal identification is expected in the next few days.

 

Chief Superintendent Tim Love from Strathclyde Police said the crash was not survivable and it was very difficult to tell the aircraft had been a helicopter.

 

He added that the families have been shattered by the news.

 

Air accident investigators have started searching the helicopter crash site near Mr McRae's home in Lanarkshire on Saturday.

 

About 40 firefighters attended the accident which happened in woods just north of Lanark at 1600 BST.

 

Users of the rally champion's official website http://www.colinmcrae.com were greeted by a black screen on Sunday with no information available.

 

Police have been at the scene throughout the night and a cordon has been thrown around the area, including a private road up to the McRae family home.

 

Mr McRae, who is married with two young children, was Britain's first rally world champion in 1995 and is the son of five times British rallying champion Jimmy McRae.

 

Wider fame

 

Mr McRae admitted to enjoying the adrenaline rush of activities such as bungee jumping and was a keen pilot.

 

He moved to the principality of Monaco in 1995, partly through his friendship with David Coulthard.

 

But as his family grew up, he spent more time back at his home in Lanarkshire. He and his wife Alison bought the 17th century Jerviswood House.

 

Rev Bryan Kerr, minister of Lanark Greyfriars Church and a neighbour of the McRae family, said: "A lot of people have been stunned by this and our thoughts go out to all of the families affected.

 

"This will be hugely devastating, particularly in such a small community. You just don't expect these things to happen on your doorstep especially when it is someone who is so well known and well liked in the town.

 

"The town's ministers have spoken to each other and special prayers will be offered for all those affected by the tragedy and remembering those who are working on the rescue efforts and trying to piece together what happened."

 

His brother, Alister, is also a professional rally driver and has enjoyed some success, including winning the British Rally Championship in 1995.

 

Mr McRae's sister is a doctor at the University Hospital in County Durham and she too enjoys rally driving.

 

Video games

 

He also achieved wider fame by endorsing a range of successful video games. Codemasters released the first Colin McRae Rally title in 1998.

 

'Colin McRae: DiRT' was the title for the latest instalment of the games series which launched this year on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

 

Stars from the world of motorsport have been paying tribute to Mr McRae.

 

Fellow Scot and Formula One ace David Coulthard, said: "He and Alison were good friends and I cannot imagine either without the other.

 

"He was fearless, flamboyant, blindingly quick in the car.

 

"We had some great times and his passing is a terrible blow for the McRae family and everyone who came in contact with him."

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/6997270.stm

Woww...

 

I used to have his playstation game.

 

Me too, it was a good game. This is very tragic, R.I.P.