McRAE’S MENTOR DIES IN HORROR AIR CRASH
RALLY TYCOON’S PLANE HITS HELICOPTER
THE tycoon who helped launch rally legend Colin McRae’s career has been killed in a plane crash in Spain.
Donald Milne, 65, was at the controls of his private plane when it collided with a firefighting helicopter.
He died in hospital hours after the
horror accident on Saturday at an airfield near Alicante.
Donald, originally from Aberdeen, had lived in Spain with wife Fiona for about 20 years after selling his North Sea oil drilling services company, Apex Tubulars.
He was a former rally champion himself, taking the Scottish title in 1991, and friends said he had the same passion for flying as he had for motor racing.
Younger son Freddie, 28, joined his parents in Spain for Christmas and just a few days ago asked his dad about “slowing down” because of his age.
Donald told his son: “I’d rather go in my beloved aeroplane than having you spoon feed me later on.”
Older son Quintin, 37, flew out to Spain on Sunday after learning of the tragedy.
A private cremation service was due to take place in Spain yesterday.
Donald was piloting his Bucker biplane when it collided with a helicopter belonging to the Valencian state government at the Mutxamel airfield near Alicante.
The helicopter – which was landing after fighting a forest fire – was reported to have been 10 metres from the ground when its tail rotor clipped the ultralight Bucker.
Donald’s plane was behind the helicopter when the collision occurred, witnesses on the ground reported afterwards.
“You could see the accident coming,” one said.
Donald is believed to have regained consciousness after paramedics carried out CPR before he was rushed by ambulance to Alicante General Hospital.
He died from his injuries that evening.
His family are understood to have concerns about the helicopter’s role in the fatal incident, and are awaiting the results of an ongoing air crash investigation.
Tributes to Donald have poured in while his grieving wife Fiona posted a photo of them together on her Facebook page.
The couple’s two sons are both rally drivers and operate their own oil industry firms.
Donald played a major role in supporting former world champion McRae – who was killed in a 2007 helicopter crash – in his early years in the sport.
He provided cars and sponsorship to him in the 80s, enabling the ambitious youngster from Lanark to contest more races and gain valuable experience. McRae later mentored Quintin when he began rallying. Donald himself won the 1991 Scottish championship despite his five-year rallying career often being interrupted by business commitments. Donald’s friend John Fife said last night: “I spoke to Quintin on Sunday. “The private Spanish airstrip has no air traffic control. There is a
concern that the firefighting helicopter was unaware of protocols.
“The family are concerned about why that helicopter was using that airfield. It was some distance from the forest fires.”
He added: “Donald was very good company, kept himself fit and healthy. He was a workaholic at anything he did. He was a rally-holic then an aircraft-holic. “That’s the way the man was wired. “He loved the freedom of flying and enjoyed using different planes. “I would say he was a very good pilot.” Donald got his start in the oil business in the 70s when Aberdeen became a “wild west town” as individuals and companies flocked to take advantage of the North Sea discovery.
John said: “Donald supplied a lot of equipment needed offshore. It involved him travelling the world.
“He moved to Spain when he sold his business, but he was still doing consultancy work for various oil exploration firms.
“He was a ferocious worker in the 80s and 90s and rallying provided him an escape from those pressures.
“Donald rose through the ranks very rapidly. It was fair to say he had the money to go rallying, he just didn’t have the time.
“It wasn’t until 1991 that he was able to make the effort to take part in the full championship and even then he missed the final two rounds.
“He had money, but he also had talent and was prepared to commit fully to anything he did.”
John, a motoring journalist from Lanarkshire, said Donald’s resources allowed him to support McRae.
He added: “Colin would probably not have progressed quite so quickly without the support of Donald Milne.
“Donald could have two, three, four rally cars sitting back at home or around the country to call on.
“He spotted Colin’s potential and stepped in to say, ‘Use my Peugeot, use my Nissan.’ Colin drove just about everything he had. Donald never asked for a penny.
“He just said, ‘Try to bring the car back in one piece’.
“It gave Colin a great boost. When he won his first championship in 1988 it was thanks to Donald lending him cars.”
After ending his rally career in 1991, Donald indulged his passion for flight, frequently buying and selling personal aircraft and surviving two near misses while flying.
He was involved in a crash in February 1998 when he lost control of his private plane on landing at Aberdeen airport.
It veered off the main runway, closing the airport for 90 minutes and causing disruption to 10 flights.
Donald, who then lived in Banchory, near Aberdeen, said: “The whole thing happened because I failed to put down my landing gear. I must have missed it while doing my checks.”
He also survived a forced landing when a mechanical fault hit the helicopter he was piloting.
Donald had recently purchased two more aircraft from the United States, which hadn’t been collected yet.
A friend of his son Freddie posted on his Facebook page: “So sorry to hear about your dad Fred.
“What a great guy he was. Thoughts are with you, mate.”