AN RAF Chinook pilot has told the inquiry into Steve Hislop’s death that he changed his route in order to avoid clouds in the area where the former British Superbike Champion was killed.

Squadron Leader John Rigby told his crew to move away from the valley in the Borders as clouds can cause pilots to become disorientated and endanger safety, the inquiry at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

The Chinook, from RAF Lossiemouth, was on exercise in the area and arrived in Teviothead 10 minutes after Hislop’s helicopter went down.

Yesterday, the inquiry heard that two Harrier jets passed through the area half an hour after the crash and Paul Hannant, a senior inspector at the Air Accident Investigation Branch, sated there was only one aircraft flying low in the area according to radar records, and that was most likely to be Hislop’s R44 helicopter.

Hannant also said that weather conditions on the day were the most likely cause of the crash. The inquiry continues.