Sadly crashes involving motorsport personalities flying and owning aircraft have a history of being a "can of worms" - take Graham Hill for example (IIRC both his license and his aircraft CofA had expired - and the rest of the Hill family was left with very little money after the court cases).

Sadly (and you think the average motorsport fan would be intelligent enough to understand), their fans often cannot comprehend how their hero could either make a mistake (Steve Hislop - I seem to remember a lot of people being upset at the AAIB's verdict) or have "mishandled" their aircraft.

I note with interest that the press are reporting that McRae's license, like Graham Hill 30 years before, had also expired.

Sadly, as much as his family say what an excellent pilot he was, due to his "poor administration",  no one can confirm this, and he was breaking the law when he crashed.

As a professional pilot, I can vouch only too well how quickly one's flying skills can fade, even when in reasonably regular flying practice. For an amateur, who, with the license issues in mind, may well have not had a flight with an experienced pilot/instructor to ensure their competency in quite some time, it can easily be deadly. Particularly in the helicopter, which I imagine are a breed far quicker and nastier at punishing mistakes than a light single aircraft.

RIP.