'Are we going to make it back?' - Burnley Netflix star Dave Fishwick on his near-death experience
Burnley business magnate Dave Fishwick has revealed the moment he came terrifyingly close to death.
The Bank of Dave founder and Netflix star took to social media to reply to fans asking him about flying a helicopter - something he regularly films himself doing.
This week, in a post titled ‘This helicopter flight nearly killed us’, he spoke of a trip to Scotland, where his Robinson R44 craft found itself in difficulties with the weather.
He said: “We’re on our way to Scotland, we’re coming through the mountains, I was in my other helicopter, which is a Robinson R44, and suddenly we got a gust of wind, and the whole helicopter turned round and faced the opposite direction.
“And then all the speed gauges were reading wrong. It was showing we were doing no speed at all and out of wind. So then, we risked being in vortex. And then I just saw a piece of mountain that was almost chisled away, almost like a dip, and I shoved the helicopter forwards...and I got the speed back on, but then I realised - we did have speed.
“It was the pitot tube that manages the speed at the front. Speed, wind goes into that and dials inside here (tapping on the cockpit window), measuring what it says....but when you get a helicopter facing the wrong way, clearly, the pitot’s at the back and it’s not sucking the wind in, so it was showing no speed.
“But that’s definitely one of the scary ones. I thought ‘umm, are we going to make it back off this one?’”
Dave Fishwick
Nelson born Dave Fishwick is one of the county’s best known businessmen: after building a successful minibus sales company, he set up his own high street bank in 2011, after noticing big banks had stopped lending his customer’s money in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.
His incredible story was the topic of a 2023 Netlix film, ‘Bank of Dave’, whilst his further exploits were the focus of a sequel which only came out in 2025, ‘Bank of Dave 2: The Loan Ranger’.
Last year turned out to be an especially busy time for the father of two as a new film also came with the news of an upcoming musical, also all about his life.
Support your Lancashire Post and become a subscriber today. Enjoy unlimited access to local news, the latest football stories and new puzzles every day. With a digital subscription, you can see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Click here to subscribe.