devilmaster
09-06-11, 12:32 PM
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-14803595
Rally car champion Colin McRae has been blamed for causing the helicopter crash in which he died along with his five-year-old son and two family friends.
A fatal accident inquiry found the crash, near his family home in Lanark in 2007, happened because he carried out unnecessary low-level manoeuvres.
It also found that Mr McRae's flying was "imprudent" and "unreasonable".
In a statement, the McRae family said they "still believe we will never know what caused the crash".
In a lengthy and damning ruling following a fatal accident inquiry into the crash, Sheriff Nikola Stewart found that McRae, 39, was guilty of a series of dangerous, reckless and unjustified manoeuvres during the flight, including flying at very low level and failing to follow basic rules of airmanship.
She confirmed the driver, who became world famous for endorsing the hit computer racing games Colin McRae Rally and Dirt, did not have the correct flying licence or authorisation for operating that type of helicopter, and was flying illegally.
She recorded how the flight had been partially filmed by Duncan, which showed that McRae had flown as low as 275ft (84 metres), apparently to buzz some farm buildings, and then banked the helicopter sharply in a series of aerial stunts.
Rally car champion Colin McRae has been blamed for causing the helicopter crash in which he died along with his five-year-old son and two family friends.
A fatal accident inquiry found the crash, near his family home in Lanark in 2007, happened because he carried out unnecessary low-level manoeuvres.
It also found that Mr McRae's flying was "imprudent" and "unreasonable".
In a statement, the McRae family said they "still believe we will never know what caused the crash".
In a lengthy and damning ruling following a fatal accident inquiry into the crash, Sheriff Nikola Stewart found that McRae, 39, was guilty of a series of dangerous, reckless and unjustified manoeuvres during the flight, including flying at very low level and failing to follow basic rules of airmanship.
She confirmed the driver, who became world famous for endorsing the hit computer racing games Colin McRae Rally and Dirt, did not have the correct flying licence or authorisation for operating that type of helicopter, and was flying illegally.
She recorded how the flight had been partially filmed by Duncan, which showed that McRae had flown as low as 275ft (84 metres), apparently to buzz some farm buildings, and then banked the helicopter sharply in a series of aerial stunts.