Roger Cruickshank DFC (born 18 October 1982) is a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

pilot in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

, a Squadron Leader, and one of

United Kingdom's The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

top downhill

skiers Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

Early life

Roger Cruickshank was born on 18 October 1982 in Banchory,

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

, Scotland.

Career

Cruickshank joined the

, where he serves as a Eurofighter Typhoon pilot. He served in Iraq in 2016. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in 2017. In March 2005, Cruickshank crashed whilst skiing, which shattered his left tibia and required a metal plate with nine pins to be permanently fixed in his leg. After regaining the ability to walk in June 2005, he qualified for the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

. In the Men's Downhill event, skiing with a knee-brace, Cruickshank finished 37th. Cruickshank is the co-author of ''Speed of Sound, Sound of Mind'' in 2016.

Personal life

Cruickshank lost his mother to depression after she committed suicide in 2010.

Honours

* 2017 : Distinguished Flying Cross.

Works

References

1982 births Living people People from Banchory Military personnel from Aberdeenshire Royal Air Force squadron leaders Scottish airmen Scottish male alpine skiers Alpine skiers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Olympic alpine skiers for Great Britain Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) People of the War in Iraq (2013–2017) {{RAF-bio-stub