Memorial honours Inverness man killed in gyrocopter crash on Black Isle

A much-admired engineer has had a memorial erected in his honour over two years after he tragically died in a small aircraft crash in the Highlands.

Paul Nichol, who was from Balloch, Inverness, was killed when the gyrocopter he was flying crashed near Avoch on November 12, 2020.

Paul (67) was described as a student pilot and had been flying solo at the time that the tragic incident occurred.

His father was a pilot with a share in a small light aircraft for years, so from a young age Paul was exposed to talk of flying and outings to airfields.

As soon as he was allowed to, he began taking flying lessons in light aircraft, working towards his pilot’s licence years before flying gyrocopters.

Flying, though, was just one of his many passions which also included sailing, cycling, ski-ing, wind surfing, housebuilding and making furniture.

A touching memorial plaque has now been placed on a stone adjacent to the new Whitebridge, the last engineering project that Paul was involved with.

The project in Nairnshire involved the realignment of the B9090 road just south of Clephanton and the creation a new bridge to span the river.

The memorial states: “During his career Paul managed many complex projects throughout the Highlands and Islands.

“He was well known for his hands-on approach and true engineering spirit, helping to solve problems with innovative solutions and improving the region’s infrastructure for all.

“He was involved with the construction of many roads, bridges and hydro schemes, as well as notable upgrades to the Caledonian Canal, where Paul followed in the footsteps of other great engineers of the past.

“The construction of the Whitebridge was his final project prior to retiring in 2019.”

It concludes simply: “He is profoundly missed.”

Paul was known to be especially drawn to projects that involved the Caledonian Canal as he was a great admirer of its creator – the prolific and highly respected Scottish civil engineer Thomas Telford.

Paul managed a number of projects in the canal over the years, and received numerous awards and commendations from national civil engineering societies for the quality of his work.

He had intended to use some of his free time in retirement to write and produce an informative booklet documenting the updated maintenance works carried out on the Caledonian Canal.

It would have told the story of the waterway’s fascinating life as it continued on from Telford’s original engineering achievements to bring it into being.

Paul had been heavily involved in the canal as project manager.

This was a big job but he loved it and fully immersed himself in the challenges it presented.

In a statement from his family, which was issued shortly after his tragic death, they were clear that he had absolutely loved flying.

His wife Hazel said: “Words can’t express how much I’ll always miss him.

“He was so special.

“His family and friends and work colleagues all miss him too.

“Nothing will ever get close to explaining the depth of pain and sadness felt.”

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