A HELICOPTER that crashed in Co Kildare killing a flight instructor and a trainee pilot passed its annual maintenance check on Tuesday.
The Schweizer helicopter came down in good weather conditions in the north end of the Bog of Allen in Kilmurray Bog between the villages of Johnstownbridge and Carbury.
The crash happened shortly after the aircraft left Weston airport near Leixlip at 5pm on Wednesday for a training flight, but was only discovered yesterday morning when the men’s families became concerned.
The crash claimed the lives of the 34-year-old pilot Colm Clancy from Co Donegal and his 24-year-old student from Co Clare, who was studying for his private pilot’s licence.
The pilot, Colm Clancy was a son of Matt and Betty Clancy, of Derrybeg, Co Donegal. He was second eldest in a family of four boys and a girl.
Family friend Dinny McGinley, Fine Gael TD for Donegal South West, said last night: “The entire community is in shock at this tragic event. They are a very highly-respected family in the area.”
The student was named locally last night as Dermot Patrick Sheridan from Blackwater, Co Clare. He lived with his family on the outskirts of Limerick and is survived by his mother Carmel and his younger sister Catherine (21).
The pilot had at least two years experience while Mr Sheridan had been in the air on a number of previous occasions.
A spokesman for the European Helicopter Academy, which is based in Weston airport and operated the helicopter, said the Schweizer 300CBi is one of the most frequently used aircraft for helicopter training in the world and has an excellent safety record.
He said the crash happened on Wednesday evening but was only discovered when staff arrived at the academy’s offices in Weston yesterday morning.
“These training flights usually take an hour or an hour and a half but the alarm wasn’t raised until this morning because people didn’t realise anybody was missing as this was the last flight of the day and there was nobody else back at the base,” the spokesman said.
“It wasn’t until this morning that the alarm was raised when they realised that they hadn’t returned.”
He said the three-year-old two-seater aircraft had undergone its annual maintenance check on Tuesday of this week “and was in perfect working order”. The inspection was carried out by Helicopter Support Services in Rathcormac, Co Cork, he added.
A search led by the Coast Guard rescue helicopter discovered the wreckage in the isolated area of the Bog of Allen after midday when it was reported missing to the Irish Aviation Authority and the Garda.
“We only became aware of this flight today when we were told it was missing and we immediately initiated a search and rescue,” the authority spokeswoman Lilian Cassin said. “A search and rescue helicopter was scrambled. It was sent out in the known flight path that the flight took.” She said the authority was notified that the flight was missing and said it would be quite normal for it not to be aware of certain flight plans. “The airspace out to the west of Weston would be what is called ‘uncontrolled airspace’, so there would be no requirement for anybody to contact us.”
The Department of Transports air accident investigation unit conducted a preliminary examination of the crash scene yesterday afternoon and started the process of removing the wreckage. The remains of the two men were taken to Naas General Hospital.
One line of inquiry was that the helicopter may have ditched after hitting overhead wires in the area. A full report by the investigation unit may take up to 12 months.
The Schweizer 300CBi is a light two-seater helicopter specifically designed for training purposes and is sometimes used in agriculture.
The European Helicopter Academy is a nationally accredited flight school which is approved by both the Irish Aviation Authority and Europe’s Joint Aviation Authority. In operation since 2001, it teaches students who want to fly for recreational reasons or who want to make a career in aviation.
