[Havok]

Now I know this is prolly a bit off topic but I wanted to get it out there. Colin McRae passed away yesterday when his helicopter crashed.

Now if any of you are big into WRC like I am then this is prolly as big of a shock and loss to you as it was to me when I first heard.

http://www.colinmcrae.com/

 

[Dragon]

RIP Colin.

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 - said by locals to be a school friend of McRae - and another child. McRae's wife Alison and their daughter Hollie, 9, were not on board, friends said.

Strathclyde police said in a statement: "Four people were onboard the helicopter," adding "The bodies were found within the helicopter which is owned by Mr Colin McRae of Jerviswood House, Lanark. It is believed he was onboard the helicopter."

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 16th-century home, which has an adjacent helipad. The weather had been overcast, with southwesterly winds gusting to 30 knots and good visibility.

Officers with dogs and torches continued to comb the woodland near the crash into the night.

McRae's wife, a childhood sweetheart and his former co-driver, was taken back to the house under police escort shortly after 6pm.

McRae's friend the rally journalist Jeremy Hart, who flew with him several times, described him as a "very good, very measured pilot".

"Colin regularly flew all over the UK and into Europe," said Hart. "He knew the terrain and conditions at Jerviswood very well.

"As a sportsman he was a true hero. 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."

 

[lumns]

omg, wow...

my prayers go to his friends and family.


WRC has lost one of its greatest drivers

 

[VEGAS FAHRENHEIT]

This comes as an enormous shock to the rally world :'( He was always exciting to watch.

 

[G864 TST]

Locals say the engine noise was more like a train than the normal engine noise they were used to hearing so there was definitely mechanical problems just before the crash, the 1st reports coming back say although the helicopter was completely destroyed there was little damage to the forest so it's assumed the helicopter dropped almost vertically - it is believed (and hoped) that all 4 passengers died instantly on impact.  Colin, his son aged 6, family friend from France and Colins sons best friend aged 5.  Very very sad, Colin is a big National hero with us.

CT

 

[Dragon]

Locals say the engine noise was more like a train than the normal engine noise they were used to hearing so there was definitely mechanical problems just before the crash, the 1st reports coming back say although the helicopter was completely destroyed there was little damage to the forest so it's assumed the helicopter dropped almost vertically - it is believed (and hoped) that all 4 passengers died instantly on impact. Colin, his son aged 6, family friend from France and Colins sons best friend aged 5. Very very sad, Colin is a big National hero with us.

CT

Any idea what altitude he was at? Could he have sucked in a bird?

 

[paintballman]

oh wow....i loved him. not really, i mean i like kinda idoled him. I would love to be a rally car driver and i can't beleive he died. ANd even more so his son at only 6 and not having a chance to experience life. :'(

 

[B13]

oh man...

 

[slimGTI09]

its really really sad yea, colin, his son, his sons best friend...all within about 100 yards of their house. im prayin for those families..he was so talented, those rally drivers have balls and loads of skill