Search for memorial to Perthshire plane crash pilot

An appeal has been made for information about a memorial to the victim of a Perthshire plane crash.

In December 2000 a pilot died after his light aircraft crashed on a hillside, narrowly missing two remote homes.

The six-seater Piper Aerostar was on its way from Newcastle to Iceland when it crashed two miles from the village of Fortingall, in a wooded area on Croftgarrow Farm.

Debris from the crash was strewn far and wide and rescue services worked through the night to gather the wreckage.

A tree was subsequently planted as a memorial to the pilot.

Now some local people have expressed concern that the memorial tree might be inadvertently removed after tree felling was carried out at South Chesthill as part of a forest plan.

To avoid this happening, various people, including the council’s environment service and Councillor Mike Williamson, have been attempting to pinpoint the location of the memorial tree.

Anyone who knows the location of the tree is asked to email Sue Gardener of the community council on sg1ardener@talktalk.net.