Colin McRae Fatal accident enquiry - Errr why ??
Discussion
JonRB said:
"Mr McRae chose to fly the helicopter into the valley. For a private pilot such as Mr McRae, lacking the necessary training, experience or requirement to do so, embarking upon such demanding, low-level flying in such difficult terrain, was imprudent, unreasonable and contrary to the principles of good airmanship."
I'd dispute parts of that. My understanding was that he was very experienced and had plenty of training. However, he was without a doubt a risk-taker and his luck ran out; the accusation of "imprudent" is justified but not inexperience.
Did his training and considerable experience cover the kind of flying he was doing? Point me in the direction of where I can get that training as a civvy please?I'd dispute parts of that. My understanding was that he was very experienced and had plenty of training. However, he was without a doubt a risk-taker and his luck ran out; the accusation of "imprudent" is justified but not inexperience.
Edited by Olf on Tuesday 6th September 12:18
A great driver, and doubtless a great sportsman with balls of steel.
Unforgivable to do what he did though. No licence and still took people up, including kids?
Idiot.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/sep/06/colin-mcr...
As it became clear a long time ago, McRae himself has officially been found to be the cause of this accident. It's sad because I feel like I've lost a hero, his success in a rally car was really down to being reckless and lucky rather than being a good driver. And as this spilled out into his life, he took people who trusted his ability with him.
RIP to all those involved. Hopefully the families of the deceased can now move on...while the lawyers sharpen their knives.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west...
Comment about the family "not giving permission to fly" is significant I guess.
RIP to all those involved. Hopefully the families of the deceased can now move on...while the lawyers sharpen their knives.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west...
Comment about the family "not giving permission to fly" is significant I guess.
He's no longer one of my heroes 
Guardian said:
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.
Guardian said:
Ben Porcelli's distraught parents, Mark and Karen Porcelli, said at the time that McRae had never asked permission to take their son on the flight
Guardian said:
He undertook significant manoeuvring at low level and the helicopter seems to have encountered significant g-loading as a result
prand said:
As it became clear a long time ago, McRae himself has officially been found to be the cause of this accident. It's sad because I feel like I've lost a hero, his success in a rally car was really down to being reckless and lucky rather than being a good driver. And as this spilled out into his life, he took people who trusted his ability with him.
And that, it's sad to say, was probably what caused the accident - he always took cars to the very limit, sometimes he won, a lot of the time he binned it. If you bin a rally car with a massive rollcage you tend to get away with it. Bin a helo that you have taken to, or past, the limit and it is a flimsy piece of aluminium/perspex full of squashy people. It's a real shame to end this way, for all concerned.Olf said:
JonRB said:
"Mr McRae chose to fly the helicopter into the valley. For a private pilot such as Mr McRae, lacking the necessary training, experience or requirement to do so, embarking upon such demanding, low-level flying in such difficult terrain, was imprudent, unreasonable and contrary to the principles of good airmanship."
I'd dispute parts of that. My understanding was that he was very experienced and had plenty of training. However, he was without a doubt a risk-taker and his luck ran out; the accusation of "imprudent" is justified but not inexperience.
Did his training and considerable experience cover the kind of flying he was doing? Point me in the direction of where I can get that training as a civvy please?I'd dispute parts of that. My understanding was that he was very experienced and had plenty of training. However, he was without a doubt a risk-taker and his luck ran out; the accusation of "imprudent" is justified but not inexperience.
Edited by Olf on Tuesday 6th September 12:18
lost in espace said:
What a sad ending to this, no doubt the dead passengers' families will now be able enter into litigation without undue resistance from McRae's insurers, assuming there was one. I wonder if his estate will be liable?
I would imagine the lack of a licence means no insurance, therefore his estate will have to pay. So he's lost his family their inheritance as well. Good work Colin.Same thing happened to Damon Hill when Graham was killed, I believe, leaving them penniless.
Marf said:
Soovy said:
Same thing happened to Damon Hill when Graham was killed, I believe, leaving them penniless.
What's the story there, what did Graham do that left his estate liable?So there was no insurance, and the estate paid out to the victims' families leaving Damona dn his Mum with zero.
Full report here.
http://www.aaib.gov.uk/publications/formal_reports...
Edited by Soovy on Tuesday 6th September 15:03
erdnase said:
What does it mean when he was described as "switching to powered flight" before the crash, and why is that significant?
Where did you see that quote? The BBC article said the aircraft was in powered flight at the time of the crash, but that just means the engines were operating and the aircraft was flying rather than auto-rotating (helicopter equivalent of gliding).I had some experience with drivers who were pilots in the past. I was always surprised how lacking in real knowledge they were regarding the rules and important aspects of operating an aircraft like weather, terrain and aircraft loading and balance.
Often confident individuals with money take up flying. They are used to being in charge and knowing it all in their prospective walk of life, this is not a good combination to have in an aircraft, especially combined with a lack of real experience or recency.
I expect sailors see similar things happening at sea with well off over confident people and boats.
Often confident individuals with money take up flying. They are used to being in charge and knowing it all in their prospective walk of life, this is not a good combination to have in an aircraft, especially combined with a lack of real experience or recency.
I expect sailors see similar things happening at sea with well off over confident people and boats.
Fittster said:
It's a legitimate question. If it had be a car rather than an aircraft would we see the same level of investigation?
In that case the Police would have commissioned the Collision Investigation Unit on the scene, where a technical scientific survey of the scene would have been completed. The vehicles involved would have been recovered and further examined for potential contributory faults.If all involved were deceased, ie. no criminal investigation could take place to discover the facts, the Coronor would use inquests into the deaths, to formally explain them and reach a verdict to establish responsibility.
In other words, if it had been a car, the same process would have been followed with the relevant bodies taking care of the technical aspects of the case.
Edited by 10 Pence Short on Tuesday 6th September 15:55
tank slapper said:
erdnase said:
What does it mean when he was described as "switching to powered flight" before the crash, and why is that significant?
Where did you see that quote? The BBC article said the aircraft was in powered flight at the time of the crash, but that just means the engines were operating and the aircraft was flying rather than auto-rotating (helicopter equivalent of gliding).I, as a non-aviator, just assumed that any time a helicopter was off the ground, that it would be in "powered flight" - so thought it was an unusual thing to point out in an article/investigation.
Do helicopters often autorotate in normal flight?
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