Seven-year-old boy who died in plane crash named

The seven-year-old boy who died in a plane crash in Co Offaly on Sunday has been named as Kasper Kacprzak.

Meanwhile, family members of the British pilot who died in the same crash are expected to arrive in Ireland on Tuesday.

Postmortems were carried out on the man’s remains and those of Kacper Kacprzak at the Midland Regional Hospital, Tullamore today.

The boy’s father, who is from Poland but living in Dublin, is a regular parachutist with the club and had jumped from the plane on Sunday. He visited the scene of the crash while rescue efforts were underway.

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Although initially believed to have been one of the parachutists who exited the plane in the minutes prior to the crash, gardaí later said he was in fact on the ground when the plane crashed.

The aircraft had carried out five flights from the airfield on Sunday and the boy’s father had participated in an earlier jump.

It took the emergency services several hours to recover the bodies of the boy and the pilot from the plane. The remains were taken to the Midland Regional Hospital, Tullamore on Sunday night at around 10pm.

The pilot, who was in his 40s and from the UK, and the boy were on the plane which crashed not long after 16 skydivers jumped without incident.

The aircraft, a Cessna Caravan plane, had departed from the Irish Parachute Club's airfield in Clonbullogue near Edenderry on Sunday at around 2.25pm.

Local Councillor Eddie Fitzpatrick of Fianna Fáil said he had been told the man was “was a very experienced pilot, about 45 or 46 years of age and he would have huge experience in flying that type of aircraft”. He believed the pilot was also a flying instructor in the UK.

According to Cllr Fitzpatrick, a Pilatus plane usually used by the parachute club had been sent abroad for an overhaul and the Cessna Caravan was being used in the meantime.

He said the club had been quiet over the winter due to the bad weather and it was only now getting back to full operation. Cllr Fitzpatrick said there was widespread shock in the local community over the tragedy. “I would like to express my condolences to the family of the pilot and the little boy,” he added.

Eyewitness Jimmy Slattery was out walking his dog when he saw the crash occur on Sunday.

He said there was no smoke but the plane’s engine was roaring as it descended straight down towards a distant tree line.

Mr Slattery had mistakenly believed it was a stunt and said he expected the plane to pull up but that never happened. He recalled seeing the tail move slightly when it was near the tree line before he heard “a thump” as it collided with the ground.

Efforts to recover the plane wreckage took serveral hours. It is understood the task was made more difficult as the plane was buried to a depth of around six feet in the bog. The Air Accident Investigation Unit was due to carry out an examination of the plane at its site in Gormanston, Co Meath to try and uncover the cause of the crash.

Local Councillor Martin O’Reilly of Sinn Féin said the community was shocked and saddened. “It’s tragic. That’s the only word I can use at the moment. It is all only sinking in about the extent of the tragedy.” He said the thoughts of the community were with the families of both victims and those involved in the recovery effort.

Prayers were said for the victims of the crash at Mass in the Church of the Sacred Heart in Clonbullogue on Monday morning.

The Irish Parachute Club, which has between 150 and 200 members, remained closed on Monday but issued a statement.

“The board of directors, members and friends of the Irish Parachute Club are deeply saddened at the death of the occupants of the aircraft that was operating on behalf of the club. Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected.

“We would like to thank the Air Accident Investigation Unit and the emergency services who are continuing their investigation at this very difficult time.”

Gardaí said last night that they would not be releasing the names of the victims until they were satisfied that all family members had been informed.