David Coulthard, his fiancee and his personal trainer dramatically escaped with their lives yesterday when their private jet crashed in flames in France.

Coulthard (29), Heidi Wichlinski and Andrew Matthews scrambled through a window to safety when the Learjet crashed during an emergency landing at Lyon, killing both pilots.

The executive jet had been flying from Farnborough, Hampshire, to Nice when its pilot radioed ahead to Lyon.

Coulthard said later: "Obviously I'm relieved that Heidi, Andy and myself are unhurt, but I would like to express my deepest sympathy for the families of the two pilots.

"It is inappropriate for me to go into the details of the accident, but we were very lucky to walk away."

All three passengers were taken to hospital but later discharged.

"As a precaution, they were all taken to hospital in Lyon for a check-up and have already left," Coulthard's McLaren race team said in a statement.

Coulthard is expected to participate in this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona, it added.

Airport director Bernard Chaffange said the front of the plane was destroyed in the crash while the rear of the passenger cabin caught fire as the jet landed.

Coulthard and his fellow passengers escaped through a rear cabin window as the fire broke out, he said.

"The plane was on fire at the hind part of the passenger cabin. The fore part of the cabin was totally destroyed," he told Sky News.

He added: "They managed to escape the fire immediately. They escaped by the window. They managed to get out of the plane themselves immediately after the crash and were picked up in an ambulance and taken to hospital."

Coulthard was taken to hospital after the crash at around 2.30pm local time (1.30pm Irish time). He called his manager, Ian Cunningham, from the hospital and told him of their escape.

Coulthard's victory at Silverstone nine days ago - the seventh win of his Formula One career - took him into second place in this year's drivers' championship but still 20 points behind Ferrari's Michael Schumacher.

The driver, who lives in Monaco, proposed to fashion model Heidi over the New Year, though the couple said they had no plans to get married until the current season is over.

The 29-year-old driver publicly disowns any desire to be a playboy figurehead like some fellow racers. Coulthard does lead a jetset lifestyle common to the motor-racing world, complete with a glamorous blonde model fiancee. He just does not like to talk about it.

He prefers to guard his privacy and has bought a £125,000 motor-home to guarantee a degree of seclusion from prying eyes around the busy racing tracks.

He has been known to carry a host of good luck charms to his races, and he performs a ritual which means he always gets into his racing machine from the left side, right foot first.

Coulthard was scheduled to give a press conference at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona tomorrow afternoon.

Practice for Sunday's race begins the next day.