Death of a daredevil
Revealed, how tycoon flew banned aerobatics in his biplane before crashing into helicopter as they came in to land at Spanish airstrip
A SCOTTISH tycoon killed in a plane crash had been performing banned aerobatic stunts in his biplane before colliding with a helicopter, a report has found.
Donald Milne, 65, also did not circle the aerodrome before landing as would have been expected.
A Spanish investigators’ report into the accident at Mutxamel Aerodrome, near Alicante, on the Costa Blanca, concluded expat Mr Milne’s ‘zero use’ of his cockpit radio was a ‘contributing factor’.
The findings into the December 2017 tragedy were published as dramatic photos emerged showing the seconds before the collision and the mangled wreckage of the upturned Bucker biplane.
The Aberdeen-born father-of-two – a former Scottish rally champion – suffered massive head injuries after his plane flipped over and landed upside down following the collision with the helicopter, which was returning from tackling a forest fire with two pilots and eight crew on board.
Pictures published as part of the full accident report show the helicopter coming in to land, with Mr Milne, who won the 1991 Scottish Rally Championship, a few feet above and behind.
Neither pilot was aware they were sharing the same airspace, investigators concluded.
They said the accident happened only 13ft from the ground when Mr Milne, the retired boss of a North Sea drilling firm, hit the helicopter’s rotor.
The full report by the Civil Aviation Accident and Incident Investigation Commission, the Spanish agency responsible for air traffic investigation, has taken more than a year to publish.
It ruled weather conditions were good at the time of the crash although visibility would have been ‘limited’ because the sun was low. It also found both pilots had valid licences and discounted any problems with the aircraft, adding they had not been able to locate Mr Milne’s aircraft logbook but describing him as a ‘long-time’ user of the aerodrome with around 3,500 hours of flight time.
The aerodrome director told accident investigators aerobatic stunts by pilots were banned above and around the airstrip.
But quoting an unnamed witness – a pilot who had also been involved in fire-fighting earlier that day and had just returned to the aerodrome – the investigators said: ‘He saw how the Bucker took off at 5.10pm and he didn’t hear the pilot communicate anything by radio during the take-off.
‘He saw how after take-off the pilot began to perform aerobatic manoeuvres.
‘He indicated that approximately half an hour later he saw how the plane, after performing another series of manoeuvres, executed a 180-degree left turn at an altitude of around 1,500 to 2,000ft and a slip [where the aircraft moves slightly sideways as well as forward] with the left wing down.
‘After that he levelled off some 100ft above the helicopter and continued descending until the impact.
‘He thought the Bucker probably touched the main rotor on the
‘Aerobatic manoeuvres’ ‘Thrown clear then rolled’
helicopter with its right wing, because it was thrown clear and rolled three times to the right and then twice more and then he lost sight of it because of the dustcloud that formed’.
Although the helicopter pilot said the collision was not violent, and only two of the ten people on board were slightly injured, Mr Milne died after being taken to hospital with head, stomach and chest injuries.
It is believed he had been wearing a protective helmet which came off when his plane hit the ground upside down.
Investigators found no evidence that Mr Milne had signalled his intention to land.
Investigators concluded: ‘Contributing factors were the zero employment of radio communications by the Bucker pilot and the failure by the same pilot to adhere to the normal circuit pattern of the aerodrome, where he also performed aerobatic manoeuvres.’