Colin McRae Dies in Helicopter Crash

Posted at September 18, 2007 | No Comments

At approximately 4:10 pm on 15 September 2007, an AS350B2 Squirrel helicopter registered G-CBHL to rally legend, McRae crashed 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Lanark, Scotland. Police confirmed the next day that McRae, his five year old son Johnny, and two family friends, Graeme Duncan and Johnny’s six year old friend Ben Porcelli also died in the crash.

McRae won the World Rally Championship in 1995 and came close three other times.

The crash was close to the McRae family home. McRae’s agent Jean-Éric Freudiger stated that McRae was piloting the helicopter at the time of the crash. It was later confirmed that McRae was at the controls and that the crash was likely to have been the result of a mechanical failure by McRae’s father.

McRae’s previously active website, ColinMcRae.com, was later replaced with a memorial screen stating a few details about the crash, and then with a short statement released on behalf of McRae’s father, Jimmy, and later a book of condolences, containing over 42,000 entries as of 19 September 2007.