Rally driver ace killed in helicopter accident 

RALLY driver Colin McRae was killed last month when his Eurocopter AS350B2 'Squirrel' helicopter crashed near his home in Lanarkshire, Scotland.

McRae, 39, was confirmed as one of four who died in the accident. The others were his five-year-old son Johnny, and his friends, six-year-old Ben Porcelli, of Lanark, and friend Graeme Duncan, 37.

Strathclyde police said the damage to the helicopter was so bad that it could not immediately be determined how many people were on board. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch is investigating the cause of the crash.

McRae was a qualified private helicopter pilot and said that, unlike his driving, he never took risks in the air. After a high-speed crash during a rally in 2002, he said: "I feel we should enjoy some of the benefits while we can. There's no point having a healthy bank account when you're 6ft under."

Nicky Grist, MacRae's co-driver, said, "Colin was always regarded as being a bit of a risk-taker in cars, but when it came to flying a helicopter he was a totally different man.
"The one thing he always told me, he said 'You don't mess about with a helicopter. They are bigger and better than I am and you have to drive them as such."'

On the same weekend as McRae's crash, his former boss, David Richards, also had a helicopter accident when his Eurocopter EC135 came down near North Weald Airfield. In this case though, Richards managed to make a successful forced landing and he and his wife, Karen, escaped unhurt.

Many tributes have been paid to Colin McRae. Jimmy McRae, his father and a former British rally champion, said: "Colin was a great son, a loving husband and a fantastic father. Johnny was a great wee guy, spending every spare minute with his dad, and it looked like he had the potential to carry on the family dynasty."

Fellow Scot and F1 driver David Coulthard, due to partner McRae in the Race of Champions at Wembley Stadium in December, said: "He and Alison [McRae's wife] were good friends and I cannot imagine either without the other.
"He was fearless, flamboyant, blindingly quick in the car.
"He was very down-to-earth, matter-of-fact that he was so good. He had all the good Scottish traits.
"I competed in the Race of Champions with him because of my respect for him. I remember him urging me on, telling to get the finger out for Scotland.
"We had some great times and his passing is a terrible blow for the McRae family and everyone who came in contact with him."