The late Duke of Westminster’s private plane – believed to be taking passengers south to his funeral – was at the centre of a full scale emergency at Inverness Airport yesterday.
Five people were on the Citation 750 aircraft, set to take off at about 10am, when the cockpit filled with smoke and triggered a call to the emergency services.
Police, fire brigade and ambulance were at the scene within minutes
And it emerged yesterday that two of those on board the plane are due to be carrying the coffin of the aristocrat billionaire, who died suddenly aged 64 from a heart attack on Tuesday. The date for his funeral is unknown at this stage.
Emergency services were called to Dalcross at about 10.05am after the pilot of a Citation 750 aircraft carrying five people reported a suspected technical fault during his pre-flight checks.
It is understood there was a problem with the air conditioning and that this caused the plane’s cock pit to fill up with smoke.
Following yesterday’s drama the aircraft, bearing the registration mark G-CEDK, could be seen parked up on the north apron of the airport as inspections were carried out inside it in the afternoon.
A Highlands and Island Airports Limited (Hial) spokesman said: “Hial can confirm a precautionary emergency mobilisation took place at approximately 10am on Friday after the pilot of a Citation 750 private aircraft reported a suspected technical fault during pre-flight checks ahead of take-off from Inverness Airport.
“The aircraft was able to return to its stand under its own power and the incident was closed at 10.50am and emergency services stood down”.
The spokesman added that all five people on board the plane were unhurt.
Details of when the plane would eventually be leaving and where it was flying to were unknown last night.
Yesterday morning the emergency services vehicles could be seen entering the security gate at the far end of the airport’s terminal building to get air side.
Three fire appliances – two from Inverness and one from Nairn – joined the airport’s fire service at the scene.
A fire service spokeswoman said they had been alerted to a “possible aircraft fire” which by the time they had arrived had either been extinguished or dealt with.
A police car and an ambulance also went to the scene and police officers could be seen standing alongside airport staff at the gate.
The duke, who was a close friend of the Royal Family, died on Tuesday afternoon at the Royal Preston Hospital after being transferred from his Abbeystead Estate in Lancashire.
A spokeswoman for the coroner’s office confirmed the cause of death was myocardial infarction.
The duke was said to be worth around £8.3billion, according to Forbes, making him the 68th richest billionaire in the world, and third in the UK.
He owned 190 acres in Belgravia, adjacent to Buckingham Palace and one of London’s most expensive areas, as well as thousands of acres in Scotland and Spain. In the Highlands he owned the huge Reay Forest Estate in Sutherland.
He became trustee of the estate in his early 20s and was forced to abandon his dream of a career in the armed forces, instead satisfying his love of all things military by serving in the Territorial Army.
A recent tribute on the Grosvenor website following the duke’s death described him as a passionate countryman, committed soldier and a true entrepreneur, and “distinctly down-to-earth” and courteous and humurous with all people, regardless of status or wealth.
