THE FATAL accident inquiry into the death of multiple TT winner, Steve Hislop, concluded the 41-year-old ex-British Superbike champion crashed after the aircraft he was piloting went out of control in cloud.

Sheriff Principal Edward Bowen's findings attributed the crash to a tragic accident rather than pilot error, which air accident investigators had previously highlighted.

Mr Bowen agreed with crash experts from the Air Accident Investigation Branch that the aircraft had most likely lost control after rising suddenly to avoid a hillside upon emerging from cloud.

The investigators said it was likely the engine had stalled, slowing the rotor blades which sliced off the tail boom and sent the helicopter spinning out of control to the ground.

In his written determination, Mr Bowen said: "The wreckage provides indisputable evidence of tail boom strike by the main rotor blades, resulting in most of the tail boom detaching in flight.

Last night, Hislop's mother, Margaret, of Denholm, near Hawick in Roxburghshire, said: "I have to put closure on this. At least the findings did not say pilot error, which we never believed, and have put it down to a tragic accident.