Lucky escape as one of Scotland's richest men walks away from helicopter crash

Published on Tuesday 4 August 2009 00:28

ONE of Scotland's richest men has survived a dramatic crash in his own helicopter, according to coastguards.

Lord Laidlaw was said to have been at the helm of the aircraft when it went down just off Little Deer Isle in Maine on the north-east coast of the United States.

The 66-year-old and three passengers were retrieved from the water after the helicopter made what has been described as a controlled landing on Saturday afternoon.

But the aircraft is thought to have leaked about 30 gallons of fuel, triggering a huge clean-up operation by the local environmental protection department.

The helicopter had taken off from the Lady Christine, Lord Laidlaw's luxury yacht, which has been moored near the island, in Maine's Penobscot Bay, for the past week.

The Monaco-based tax exile – who is believed to be worth more than 800 million and has given more than 6m to the Conservative Party – had been the talk of the area after the arrival of the 180ft yacht.

Coastguards said the peer was the pilot of the helicopter, which is thought to have been trying to land on the yacht's helipad.

The four, who are believed to have suffered only bumps and bruises in the accident, were rescued by a small boat from the yacht, which is thought to be worth more than 40m.

Chris Barry, a local search and rescue co-ordinator, said the helicopter was en route to Lady Christine when the accident happened.

Mr Barry said the incident was now the subject of an official air accident inquiry.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the helicopter made a "controlled landing" using flotation devices shortly before 5pm on Saturday. FAA spokeswoman Holly Baker said a lobster boat towed the helicopter to shore.

Currently believed to be Scotland's fourth-richest man, Irvine Laidlaw was born in Keith, Banffshire, and educated at Merchiston Castle School, in Edinburgh.

He went on to Leeds University, gaining a BA in economics in 1963, followed by an MBA from Columbia University, in the US.

The woollen mill owner's son started his working life as a financial analyst, but quit to found the Institute for International Research in 1973, which he transformed from a small US publishing firm into the world's largest conference organiser. He sold the firm in 2005 for about 775m.

He was made a life peer as Baron Laidlaw of Rothiemay in June 2004.

Lord Laidlaw has been widely criticised for failing to become a UK tax resident despite being appointed to the House of Lords.

He and his second wife, Christine, are said to divide their time between a vineyard on the French Riviera, an apartment in Monte Carlo and an estate near Cape Town, in South Africa.

His donations to the Scottish Conservative Party have been widely credited with keeping the party afloat in the wake of their wipe-out in the 1997 general election.

He asked for "leave of absence" from the Lords last year after lurid allegations emerged about his private life.