Piper Seneca: Last News

Frankie Dettori has opened up on the moment he was pulled from the burning wreckage of a plane by a fellow jockey after it crashed 20 years ago.The Italian rider was on board the rented Piper Seneca plane with fellow jockey Ray Cochrane in June 2000 when it crashed and burst into flames on take off at Newmarket.Cochrane was hailed as a hero after pulling Dettori from the wreckage and trying, ultimately in vain, to also save pilot Patrick Mackey.He suffered burns which eventually led to his retirement from racing, but it was worth it as his quick thinking and bravery saved Dettori's life.The Italian was in tears as he recalled the events of that day. "I thought, 'I'm dead'," he told The Sun.

He's one of this year's rumoured I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! contestants, but Frankie Dettori could find the Bushtucker Trials even more difficult than others. The retired jockey, 52, has suffered from claustrophobia following a horror plane crash back in 2000, so there's no doubt that entering the jungle may prove tough for him. Frankie miraculously survived the disaster, which claimed the life of pilot Patrick Mackey, on the Newmarket racecourse over two decades ago, but it had a lasting impact on him.