Search for bodies due to resume at site of R116 crash

SEARCHES will resume off Black Rock Island this weekend as the investigation into the Rescue 116 helicopter crash continues.

Garda divers will travel to the scene of the Coast Guard crash in Co. Mayo today. All four crew members of the Sikorsky 3-92 helicopter died after it crashed into the remote island during a rescue mission off the coast of Mayo in March.

The bodies of pilot Captain Dara Fitzpatrick and co-pilot Mark Duffy were later recovered, but winchman Ciarán Smith and winch operator Paul Ormsby are still missing.

Superintendent Tony Healy, who is leading the investigation, said improved sea conditions would allow for a fresh survey of the area.

The investigators are expected to trawl the seabed for any new material that could throw further light into the cause of the crash.

One of the helicopter engines is still on the sea floor and may be recovered this weekend.

Debris is still being collected along the shoreline and is being processed by gardaí in Belmullet. The Air Accident Investigation Unit is being informed of any finds.

Retired Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Byrne said yesterday that the Rescue 116 crew did not have enough data to avoid a collision.

‘It was not a mechanical error,’ he told RTÉ’s News at One.

‘The aircraft was running normally and there was a problem – they struck a rock as there was no warning to alarm the pilot. It is not like normal flying.’

He said based on his own experience, when coastal search and rescue services were flying at night and in bad weather conditions, they had to rely on radar and navigation.

He said he believed all the potential dangers of obstacles off the Irish coastline had now been addressed.

However, it has emerged that amateur associations representing sport and recreational pilots have warned the Irish Aviation Authority of numerous errors and omissions on their aeronautical maps over the past year.

On Thursday, RTÉ’s Prime Time programme reported that a Coast Guard pilot flagged the absence of Black Rock Island from the onboard warning system four years ago, but that the issue was not addressed.

‘There was no warning to alarm the pilot’