F1 News: Former Driver Recalls Horrific Plane Crash - "You Don’t Forget Aircraft Crashes"
Former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard recalls going through a horrific plane crash in the year 2000 that killed both pilots. Coulthard had chartered a flight from Farnborough to Nice, but the Learjet 35 experienced an engine failure, forcing the flight to divert to another airport. Unfortunately, the plane crashed during an emergency landing attempt at Lyon–Saint Exupery Airport.
Fortunately, Coulthard, accompanied by his personal trainer Andy Matthews and then-girlfriend Heidi Wichlinski, survived the crash. Despite sustaining a broken rib, Coulthard and the other two passengers were able to escape the wreckage. Tragically, both the pilot, David Saunders, and co-pilot, Dan Worley, lost their lives in the horrific accident.
Recalling the events that led to him experiencing the plane crash ahead of the 2000 Spanish Grand Prix, he said in an interview with UK's Telegraph:
“When I look back on the plane crash – that was born out of being spoiled, I think.
“I’d wanted to go back to Monaco and although my normal aircraft had been booked for later, I decided I wanted to leave then.
“That’s not actually a normal way to be acting. One minute you’re growing up in a village in Scotland, the next you’re saying, ‘Get me on a plane now.’
“So you get on the plane, you meet the pilots and an hour later they’re both dead.”
Bracing For Impact
Going into the details of the crash, he explained how it all happened, to F1 Racing:
“We had time to prepare ourselves.
“On impact, the plane wing tanks ruptured and there was a fire on the right-hand side of the aircraft. When the plane came to rest, the front of the cockpit had broken free from the main fuselage.”
Two years after the incident, Coulthard had acknowledged that the crash had left a lasting imprint on the way he looked at life and the sport. He added:
“It’s not something you can forget easily.
“I would say, actually, that it has affected every aspect of my life and, in fact, it has had a lasting impact on the way I live my life.
“There’s not a week goes by when I’m not on an aircraft and there be day-to-day things you forget like birthdays or anniversaries you really should have thought about, but you don’t forget aircraft crashes, especially when there was loss of life involved, as there was that day.”
The ex-driver revealed his initial eagerness to race the week following the crash despite his broken rib but, did so after careful consideration. Eventually, he competed and secured second place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Reflecting on his mindset as a racing driver, Coulthard expressed that if the pilots had survived the incident, he would have wanted them to fly again. He said:
“Had it been the other way around, I would have wanted them [the pilots] to fly again, if that’s what they wanted. It was not just their job, it was what they loved and what they lived for. Flying an aircraft is a bit like driving a racing car, it goes beyond a normal job – it is also a passion.”