Ahead of the 2000 Spanish GP, David Coulthard survived a plane crash. Despite having a normal flight booked for later, the Scottish driver wanted to leave for Nice immediately along with his girlfriend and trainer. However, due to an engine failure on his private jet, they had to try an emergency landing at Lyon airport.
The crash killed both pilots — David Saunders and Dan Worley — while Coulthard, his girlfriend and trainer somehow got out of the wreckage to survive. The Scottish driver broke one of his ribs. Still, he went on to race at the Spanish GP a week later.
TIL that David Coulthard was in a plane crash that killed both pilots. He survived and raced at the Spanish GP soon afterwards.
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Coulthard reflected on the plane crash in an interview with the UK’s Telegraph. He said, “When I look back on the plane crash – that was born out of being spoiled, I think”.
He recalled his insistence to leave immediately and that was not a wise thing to do. The former McLaren driver questioned himself after the accident, ‘there was no need to rush – why the need to rush?’.
It was a humbling experience for Coulthard, as he mentioned that he did not act normally with his impulsive decision-making. He added, “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.”
Regardless, he raced at the Catalunya circuit to claim a P2 finish behind his McLaren teammate, Mika Hakkinen. While Coutlhard would have opted out of the weekend due to his broken rib, he stated that he raced because racing is his job and he liked it. The Scottish driver also mentioned that he would have also wanted the pilots to continue flying if their fates were reversed.
