A man in his 50s died yesterday when the light aircraft he was piloting crashed in farmland north of Ardfert village in Co Kerry. The accident occurred shortly after 4.30pm during an aerial display as part of the annual Ardfert summer festival.
The man, believed to be married and from Co Clare, was pronounced dead at the scene and his body was removed to Kerry General Hospital where a postmortem is expected today.
Family members were being notified of the accident last night and the man's name was not released. The scene, on grassland over a mile north of the village, was preserved by gardaí.
The man was on his own in the single-engine aircraft. No one was injured on the ground. Locals reported seeing an aircraft flying very low over the village around the time of the accident.
Two investigations were under way last night. Investigators from the Department of Transport's air accident investigation unit were dispatched to Ardfert. Gardaí are also conducting an investigation.
Supt Pat Sullivan appealed to spectators who had video footage or photographs of the aircraft to come forward. Several eyewitnesses had already come forward, he added.
Early accounts indicated the aircraft went down suddenly. It did not go on fire and there were no reports of smoke from the engine before the crash. It is understood the pilot was experienced.
Investigators from the Department of Transport launched a separate investigation after a light aircraft was forced to make a dramatic crash landing on the N78 road in Kildare yesterday afternoon. The pilot, believed to be in his 30s and from Dublin, is understood to have been carrying out training exercises at Kilrush airfield, Co Kildare when the aircraft lost control.
He escaped with only minor injuries and no other persons or vehicles were involved. The cause of the crash, which occurred sometime before 4pm, has not yet been established, although early indications were that weather conditions were not a factor.
The aircraft came down on the N78 between Athy and Kilcullen. The road remained closed for several hours yesterday afternoon, but the badly damaged aircraft was cleared by 6.45pm and the road reopened.
Frank Russell, accident investigator with the Department of Transport, said the pilot was lucky to be alive. "I'm delighted to say that he was able to walk away from this, thank God," Mr Russell said at the scene.