This appears in the
Glasgow Herald but apparently lifted from an interview given to
Motorcycle News
Hislop’s instructor warned him not to fly helicopter days before fatal crash
STEVE Hislop, the champion motorcyclist killed in a helicopter crash last week, was apparently warned not to fly the aircraft by his instructor days before the fatal accident.
News of the warning emerged as final preparations were being made for his funeral today.
Norman Bailey, the 41-year-old's flying instructor, told Motorcycle News that he had indicated to Hislop that he should wait until he had more experience before flying the Robinson R44 which he had hired from an air park in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.
Mr Bailey, who runs (edited) said: "Steve was a relative novice as a pilot and the Robinson can be a handling challenge. It is a very responsive, zippy, and fast helicopter, but for a low-time pilot it is not very forgiving."
Some people believe bad weather may have also contributed to the fatal crash.Mr Bailey dismissed the possibility that his former student would have flown if there had been any low-lying cloud and mist present that day. "Steve just wasn't a risk taker when it came to flying. I've heard about the poor weather but I just can't believe that Steve would have flown knowing conditions were bad. He told me that in racing he had to take risks, but he was not one to do the same in the air," he said
Mr Bailey revealed Hislop, who gained his pilot's licence in March this year, had not completed any of his flight training in the cockpit of a Robinson R44. Instead he did so in an Enstrom helicopter which, according to flight instructors, is an easier aircraft to fly.
Mr Bailey added: "He wasn't vastly experienced, but he was incredibly competent."
Any views on revealing 'warnings' of this sort to the Press in advance of the AAIB report?