this news kinda changes the whole thing about colin mc rae

[simonairheadz]

#1 6 Minutes Ago
simonairheadz
Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,376

colins air crash

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this kinda puts a different feeling about the whole thing!

Colin's Air Crash report.

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Rally driver Colin McRae did not have a valid flying licence when the helicopter he was piloting crashed killing four people. Skip related content
Related photos / videos
McRae 'did not have flying licence'

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch says the 39-year-old former world champion's documents had expired.

The crash happened September 15 2007 just 150 yards from the intended landing spot in the grounds of Mr McRae's home near Lanark in Scotland.

McRae died along with his five-year-old son Johnny, 37-year-old friend Graeme Duncan and six-year-old Ben Porcelli whose parents said today that the accident was "completely avoidable".

In trying to fly in a valley at relatively low height and high speed, Mr McRae was "undertaking a demanding manoeuvre", the report from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said.

The report added that a phenomenon that can give an impression that the controls are jammed may have led to the significant deviation in the flight path that Mr McRae was trying to recover from.

Disorientation, misjudgment or other factors may have led to this deviation but "the cause of the accident was not positively determined", the AAIB said.

In a statement, Ben's parents Mark and Karen Porcelli said: "We are relieved that the AAIB report has finally been published, particularly since the circumstances of the accident which took Ben's life were presented to us by the AAIB in February 2008.

"The cause of the crash is clearly outlined in the report. Most of the flight was captured on video and it is clearly evident that unnecessary risks were taken and that the accident was completely avoidable."

The report said that Mr McRae's five-year flying licence had expired in February 2005 and he was also not authorised to fly the type of helicopter he was operating - his "valid type rating" having expired in March 2007.

The AAIB said that there had been several cases between 2004 and the time of the accident of "non-compliance with existing regulations".

I know what you mean. Can you imagine how the other families feel now?

The guy was and always will be a legend but, it does tarnish it somehow.

[simonairheadz]

mate think about it,it reads the equivalant of............unlicenced driver,(no licence to fly,expired)
dangerous driving(completly avoidable incident, unnesasary risks were taken) resulting in the death of passengers that were not aware of the risks!
as you say tarnished!

[SUBARMAN]

The report suggests that the absence of a valid licence was not contributory. Just a breach of the rules - Colin was famous for that.

Having read the full report section about the risky manoeuvres, he had little margin for error undertaking the sort of flying witnessed on the camcorder footage. A trademark of Colin's style of driving/flying.

I just hope the camcorder was not dropped on the dual controls. It nearly happened to me during a helicopter flight - I was enjoying myself and not concentrating on managing the equipment I was using - and that was during level flight! I can see it could therefore easily happen, especially during more extreme manoeuvres. I wonder how they recovered the camcorder? Maybe it was thrown clear? If so, unlikely to have been wrapped around the controls? Who knows!

Makes me think about the margin for error correction when exploring the risk envelope - eg in the heat of the chase around a blind corner at high speed - we've all done it? I certainly have.

What a tragedy!