The Garda helicopter has been largely unable to respond to a resurgence in rural crime at night, since a serious incident last May when control of the aircraft was lost while it was escorting Mrs Hillary Clinton. The aircraft is excluded from flying in areas where there is no "ambient" city light. This means it can operate at night only in clear weather and where street lighting is available.
When the Air Support Unit was launched in 1997 it was hoped that the helicopter would be able to assist in tracking raiders in rural areas, particularly mobile criminals who have been preying on elderly isolated farmers and rural businesses.
In the past year this type of crime has again been on the increase. Gangs of criminals from Co Cork and Co Limerick have been active in the past year, raiding businesses and houses in Mayo and throughout the midlands and west. While the helicopter has flown around 1,000 operations annually since it was inaugurated, almost all of these operations have been in Dublin or in the Leinster area during daylight.
The problems with night-time flying in rural areas came to a head in the near-accident on May 12th last while the helicopter was providing "top cover" for the convoy of cars accompanying Mrs Clinton on her visit to Shannon.
The incident contributed to serious differences of opinion between the Garda and the Air Corps, who operate the helicopter, according to Garda sources.
In the incident the Air Corps pilot flew into cloud and momentarily lost control of the aircraft while flying at about 1,000 feet near Ennis. The helicopter was carrying three gardai at the time.
The Air Accident Investigation Unit report, which recently became available on the Internet, reveals that the pilot caused the aircraft to spin "violently" to the left. He later could not recollect if it swung through 180 degrees or 360 degrees. The aircraft climbed to about 1,700 feet and as it increased speed, the auto pilot was engaged, "providing basic horizontal" stability. It abandoned its air cover for the convoy carrying President Clinton's wife and returned to Shannon where it landed safely. The incident had no effect on Mrs Clinton's journey. No public report of it was made at the time.
The incident happened less than two months before the fatal helicopter crash at Tramore, Co Waterford, in which four Air Corps personnel were killed on July 3rd last year.
Both events have further contributed to differences between the Garda and the Air Corps over the operation of the Garda Air Support Unit which are said to have existed almost since the unit began operations three years ago.
It is now understood the Garda strongly supports the employment of civilian pilots, preferably from an agency with experience in supplying pilots specifically for police forces. In the UK, civilian pilots working with police are required to have considerable flying experience, usually with a minimum of 2,500 flying hours. None of the pilots in the Air Corps has achieved anything like this sort of experience.
The Air Corps has been supplying pilots and service support for the Garda Unit since it started. The unit has been judged a major success and has clocked up around 1,000 flying hours annually since its introduction.
About a third of its flying time has been over urban areas at night. It has proved successful in following stolen cars and chasing robbers, recently helping to detain four armed raiders who had held up two post offices in north-west Dublin.
The Government has announced that a second aircraft will be supplied to the Garda Unit later this year.