Scot killed in Thai microlight tragedy as he scattered ashes of close friend
A SCOTS microlight instructor has died after his aircraft plunged into the Gulf of Thailand while
he and a passenger were scattering the ashes of a friend.
Award-winning pilot Tom Grieve, 57, was flying above Pattaya Bay on Saturday afternoon when his machine appeared to lose power.
Tom tried to make an emergency landing but the aircraft clipped a pier poll and crashed into the water.
Tom, who is believed to be from Lanarkshire, died in hospital from chest injuries while his passenger Patrick Esser, from Lyme Regis, Dorset, broke his arm.
Speaking from the Pattaya Memorial Hospital, 100 miles east of Bangkok, Patrick, 31, recalled the tragedy.
He said: "I was making a tribute to my best friend when suddenly things went terribly wrong.
"My friend Stuart Long had died of throat cancer, aged just 41, and we were about to scatter his ashes in the sea.
"I had done a rehearsal flight the previous day with Tom and everything went fine.
"We were at about 2000ft when the engine cut. Tom tried several times to start it but failed.
"He was gliding it down and aiming for a large piece of concrete to land on. We must have been going about 70 miles per hour when we clipped something.
"We went head over heels and crashed into the water upside down."
Other friends waiting below on boats saw the microlight hit a newly constructed pier before going under the water.
Khun Prichar, who saw the crash, said the GT450 microlight circled three times before smoke started coming from the engine and it fell into the sea.
Patrick added: "I managed to get out and started looking for Tom then I saw him surface.
"He seemed okay but was in some pain.
"We were taken straight for hospital and I asked him on the way if he was okay.
"He did not reply. But he looked okay.
"In the hospital, medical staff desperately tried to give him resuscitation but failed.
"They told me he had internal injuries in his chest."
A Pattaya-based blogger called Mike described Tom as "a very experienced instructor". He added: "I know this area well and it is a bad place for an engine failure since there's nowhere to go.
"A number of the deceased's friends were waiting in boats to witness their late friend's final send-off and I guess Tom was under a degree of pressure to go ahead and fly the mission."
The cause of the crash is not yet known but the blogger claimed: "According to eyewitnesses and Tom's passenger, Tom turned-off the engine in order to drop the ashes.
"It would seem the engine was turned off at a low height, some say below 500ft.
"After dropping the ashes, Tom attempted to re-start the engine without success.
"At this point, the eyewitness reports say he was very low/slow and banked to avoid colliding with the hill.
"The trike then 'spiralled' into one of the concrete pilings that were sticking out of the water."
Tom, formerly a member of the Connel Flying Club in Oban, who lived in Pattaya, was an experienced pilot who had received two major awards for outstanding airmanship.
The former petrochemical industry technician was well known in the Highlands, where he flew the "Dawn to Dusk" – taking off and landing at every inhabited island in the Orkney group in one day.
He received an award from the Duke of Edinburgh for the feat.
Tom also made the first microlight flight across the North Sea, from Shetland to Norway, and won the Steve Hunt Award in 1977 for circumnavigating Australia anti-clockwise. John MacGilvray, was chief flying instructor of Connel Gliding Club when Tom was a member.
John 79, said: "He was a regular visiting pilot here for about five years and for a while he was here every weekend.
"He was connected to the Connel Flying Club for about five years and then he left for Thailand about 12 to15 years ago.
"He had been out to Thailand on a couple of holidays and then, all of a sudden, he decided to join a friend who had moved there. The friend had tried to set up as a microlight instructor but couldn't because of the legislation."
Another microlighting pal Les Hodgson said: "What sad news.
"A very persuasive bloke and great fun to be around.
"Tom was one of the real characters in microlighting, a real adventurer, and will be missed by all those who knew him."
Eddie Cartwright said: "RIP Tom. You were a fantastic person, genuine, and always had lots on enthusiasm. You will be missed by everyone who met you."
Thai authorities are probing the crash and local media in the country reported that weather conditions were a factor.
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