Mark Weir

Mark Weir

Controversial Lake District mine owner Mark Weir has died in a helicopter crash near his Honister business.

Mr Weir failed to return to his home at Mosser, Cockermouth last night after a short routine flight in his helicopter.

Police said they were alerted at 10.10pm last night, Tuesday after they received a call reporting concern about the welfare of the 45-year-old businessman, who set up the country’s first via ferrata on Fleetwith Pike.

Members of the Cockermouth and Keswick Mountain Rescue Teams joined police and Search and Rescue Dogs Association members in the search for Mr Weir. A Sea King helicopter from RAF Lossiemouth also joined the operation.

A spokesperson for Cumbria Constabulary said: “Sadly, at 12.44 this morning, Wednesday 9 March, a helicopter was found crashed, 200m south east of the Honister Slate Mine, in Borrowdale. The pilot was found dead in the helicopter at the scene.

“Fire and rescue crews attended and the Civil Aviation Authority team from Swanwick has been deployed who will lead the air-crash investigation.”

Police said they are currently treating the incident as a tragic accident. The Air Accident Investigation Branch will conduct a thorough investigation, they said.

A statement from Mr Weir’s family and staff at the mine said: “Just after 7pm last night Mark left the slate mine in his helicopter following a day’s work at his mining and tourism business at the top of Honister Pass near Keswick, Borrowdale, Cumbria.

“When he failed to return to his home near Cockermouth, his partner, the mother of his three children, alerted the emergency services.

“A search of the area by the authorities located his stricken helicopter from which his body was recovered.

“At this time, the precise circumstances and causes of the accident are unknown. A full investigation is under way.

“Mark was 45. Mark’s family and staff at Honister Slate Mine are totally devastated and bereft by their loss.

A Honister Slate Mine spokesman said: “Mark was a charismatic Lake District legend with a lust for life and a giant personality.

Honister Slate Mine. Photo: Dave Dunford CC-BY-SA-2.0

Honister Slate Mine. Photo: Dave Dunford CC-BY-SA-2.0

“He was passionate about everything he did from fatherhood to flying and business. He loved questioning authority but won many doubters over through sheer force of his personality.

“He was that rare mix of shrewd businessman and creative entrepreneur – just as comfortable in the company of royalty and celebrity as he was driving diggers with slate miners or making tea with the tourists who flocked to the mine.

“Mark loved Honister and Mark was Honister. He loved flying; he loved life in the Lake District. He was a fully-trained pilot with decades of experience and would never take a risk. He is irreplaceable both as a man, a son, a father, a partner, a businessman, a boss and a human being.”

Eric Robson, chair of Cumbria Tourism, paid tribute on behalf of the Lake District tourism industry. He said: “Mark brought such a spirited dynamism to the debate about creating a thriving tourism economy to the Lakes. He genuinely loved Honister and the community of Borrowdale, he was rooted there and wanted to do the best for them.

“You also have to give him credit for how he pushed projects through when everybody was saying you can’t do that or you’ll never get away with it. He did, and he brought a tremendous amount of joy to people who enjoyed them. He will be enormously missed.”

Mountaineer Alan Hinkes Tweeted: “Distressing news.Tragic.I’m shocked and saddened. Will be missed. RIP”

Mr Weir’s plans for a 1,200m zip wire at the Honister site attracted widespread opposition and in 2008 he whipped up a storm when he said “We have come within inches of turning the Lake District mountains into a morgue,” after severe weather hit the Original Mountain Marathon.

And in 2009 the mine owner found himself fearing for his life as the tractor he was driving was swept away in a flooded river after a bridge collapsed south of Cockermouth.

Mr Weir was a major player in the Cumbrian business community and reopened the Honister Slate Mine, between Borrowdale and Buttermere, in the 1990s after seeing how upset his late grandfather was when the pair flew over the derelict site. His grandfather had worked in the mine.

The reopened mine provided employment for both slate workers and tourism staff in a deprived area and Mr Weir often personally led guided underground tours of the 17km (11 miles) of tunnels at the mine, which aimed to tell the history and hardship of the original Lakeland miners from Victorian times

In 2007, he launched the UK’s first via ferrata for visitors to the site, allowing the re-opening of the long-closed Victorian miners’ route leading to the summit of Fleetwith Pike.

Honister Mine was an active contributor to local charities such as the Fix the Fells Project which helps restore damaged footpaths in the Lakes.

Mark Weir with Julia Bradbury on Fleetwith Pike

Mark Weir with Julia Bradbury on Fleetwith Pike

Celebrity visitors to the mine and Mr Weir include Griff Rhys Jones, Julia Bradbury, Coronation Street cast members and Top Gear’s Richard Hammond.

Throughout the last few months, a television crew have been making a documentary about Mr Weir and the mine, which was due to air this autumn.

He is survived by his partner Jan Wilkinson and three children.