A MEMORIAL service will be held in Dunblane this weekend to pay tribute to a popular businessman lost at sea following a plane crash.
The family of Ian Stirling will be joined by friends and colleagues at Dunblane Cathedral on Sunday January 10.
The service will begin at 2.30pm.
A notice, posted on behalf of Mr Stirling's wife, Elizabeth and sons Mark, David and Jamie, said wellwishers would not be required to wear black and that a collection would be taken for the RNLI.
It added: "All welcome who wish to honour his memory."
Mr Stirling, a former director of Allanwater Developments in Bridge of Allan, was reported missing on December 3 after he failed to return to Blackpool Airport.
The 73-year-old, described as an "experienced pilot", had been flying a Rockwell Commander aircraft when it disappeared from radar three miles off the Isle of Man shortly after 9am.
Investigators believe he crashed in the Irish Sea during poor weather conditions. He was the only person on board the light aircraft.
A major rescue operation was launched by the Coastguard.
Search teams later recovered debris off the Lancashire coast and found traces of a fuel spillage, but Mr Stirling has never been found.
His family said in December that they were "hoping against hope" that he may be found alive.
A spokeswoman for the family added: “Ian was an experienced pilot who had flown this route many times. We are obviously in shock at what has happened."
An investigation into the incident by the Air Accident Investigation Branch is currently underway.
Mr Stirling served as a director of Allanwater Developments, a building firm, for many years before his son David took over the company.
The businessman was understood to split his time between the Isle of Man and his home in Stirling.
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