A FORMER rally driving champion yesterday said he was lucky to be alive after his helicopter crashed into a field.
Murray Grierson spoke of his relief after he walked away on Saturday from the wreckage with only a minor head injury.
The 55-year-old is the second motorsport champion to be involved in a helicopter crash in Scotland this year.
Four months ago Steve Hislop, the British motorcycle champion, died after his craft came down in the Borders.
Mr Hislop was flying solo when the Robinson R44 that he was piloting crashed into a hillside near Hawick.
Mr Grierson, who was the Scottish rally champion in 1987 and 1993, was piloting a former military Gazelle aircraft when it crash-landed at around 2.10pm in a field near Byeloch Farm at the village of Mouswald in Dumfries and Galloway.
He lost control of the helicopter after it hit overhead electrical cables and needed eight stitches to a head wound which he suffered during the crash landing.
As the Air Accidents Investigation Branch launched an inquiry into the accident, Mr Grierson, from his home in the nearby town of Dalbeattie, spoke of his terror as he realised he was about to crash while attempting to land in a field owned by a friend.
He said: ''There are a lot of wires in that field but because of the low winter sun I didn't see them until the last minute.''
Mr Grierson, the sole occupant of the helicopter, added: ''I tried to pull back but my blades chopped the tail off and once you've lost tail rotor control you just start to spiral downwards.
''A lot of things go through your mind at that point but I just had to remember what I'd been taught and try to cushion the blow.''
He was taken to Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary and was released after being treated for his head wound.
Dumfries and Galloway Police have appealed for witnesses to the accident.
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