In the early hours of 14 March 2017, a
Sikorsky S-92
The Sikorsky S-92 is an American twin-engine medium-lift helicopter built by Sikorsky Aircraft
Sikorsky Aircraft is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Stratford, Connecticut. It was established by aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky in 1 ...
helicopter operated by
CHC Helicopter
CHC Helicopter is a Texas-based helicopter services company.
CHC Helicopter maintains it global headquarters in Irving, Texas and operates more than 250 aircraft in 30 countries around the world. CHC's major international operating units are b ...
under contract to the
Irish Coast Guard
The Irish Coast Guard (IRCG; ga, Garda Cósta na hÉireann ) is part of the Department of Transport of Ireland. The primary roles of the Coast Guard include maritime safety and search and rescue. The ''Irish Marine Search and Rescue Region'' ( ...
(call sign Rescue 116) crashed into the sea while supporting a rescue operation off
County Mayo
County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...
, on Ireland's west coast. All four crew members on board, Captain
Dara Fitzpatrick
Dara Fitzpatrick (15 October 1971 – 14 March 2017) was the Irish Coast Guard's most senior helicopter search and rescue pilot. As a Captain, she piloted the Dublin-based Rescue 116 helicopter. She was killed in the 2017 Irish Coast Guard Resc ...
, Chief Pilot Mark Duffy, winch operator Paul Ormsby, and winch man Ciarán Smith were killed.
In a preliminary report published in April 2017, the
Air Accident Investigation Unit
The Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) ( ga, An tAonad um Imscrúdú Aerthionóiscí) is part of the Department of Transport of Ireland, and is responsible for the investigation of aircraft accidents and serious incidents within Ireland, and ...
found that the helicopter had clipped the small island of
Blackrock
BlackRock, Inc. is an American Multinational corporation, multi-national investment company based in New York City. Founded in 1988, initially as a Enterprise risk management, risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, BlackR ...
at an altitude of around while on approach to
Blacksod Lighthouse
Blacksod Lighthouse (Gaelic: ''Fód Dubh'') is a lighthouse at the southern end of the Mullet Peninsula, Erris, County Mayo, at the entrance to Blacksod Bay. It is made of local granite blocks, which are believed to have come from Termon Hill, a ...
for a refuelling stop, and subsequently crashed out of control into the sea.
Events
On 14 March 2017, Rescue 118 had completed the medical evacuation of an injured fisherman west of Blacksod, for which Rescue 116 had provided support, and was returning. Shannon ATC last had communication from Rescue 116 at shortly before the crash announcing 'making our way to
Blacksod
Blacksod Bay ( ga, Cuan an Fhóid Duibh) is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean in Erris, north County Mayo, Ireland. The long and wide bay is bounded on its western side by the Mullet Peninsula. Its eastern side includes Kiltane Parish, which exten ...
for refuel'. Refuelling is a common practice in a long-range and lengthy
SAR
SAR or Sar may refer to:
Places
* Sar (river), Galicia, Spain
* Sar, Bahrain, a residential district
* Sar, Iran (disambiguation), several places in Iran
* Sar, Tibet, Tibet Autonomous Region of China
* Šar Mountains, in southeastern Europe
...
mission. The helicopter itself did not make any mayday call, but disappeared from air traffic control radar around 12:45am and failed to arrive at Blacksod, prompting the issuing of a
declaration of emergency by the Marine Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Dublin.
Rescue 118 was advised of the situation and routed to Blacksod to begin a search for the missing helicopter. Rescue 115, the
Shannon Airport
Shannon Airport ( ga, Aerfort na Sionainne) is an international airport located in County Clare in the Republic of Ireland. It is adjacent to the Shannon Estuary and lies halfway between Ennis and Limerick. The airport is the third busiest ai ...
-based Coast Guard helicopter, was immediately dispatched to the area to aid in the search, along with a
CASA CN-235
The CASA/IPTN CN-235 is a medium-range twin-engined transport aircraft that was jointly developed by CASA of Spain and Indonesian manufacturer IPTN. It is operated as both a regional airliner and military transport; its primary military roles ...
maritime patrol aircraft from the
Irish Air Corps
"Watchful and Loyal"
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries =
, equipment =
, equipment_label =
, battles = ''see list of wars''
, decorations =
, battle_honours =
, battle_honours_label =
, fl ...
. The
Irish Naval Service
The Naval Service ( ga, An tSeirbhís Chabhlaigh) is the maritime component of the Defence Forces of Ireland and is one of the three branches of the Irish Defence Forces. Its base is in Haulbowline, County Cork.
Though preceded by earlier mar ...
offshore patrol vessel
LÉ ''Róisín'' arrived in the search zone at 9:00 am on 14 March. Divers from the
Naval Service Diving Section
The Naval Service Diving Section (NSDS) ( ga, Rannóg Tumadóireachta na Seirbháse Cabhlaigh) is a specialist unit of the Irish Naval Service, a branch of the Defence Forces, the military of Ireland. The Naval Service Diving Section specia ...
and
Garda Water Unit
The Garda Water Unit ( ga, Aonad Uisce an Gharda Síochána) is a unit of the Garda Síochána, the police service of Ireland. Formerly known as the Garda Sub-Aqua Unit, the name was changed to incorporate the services of the non-diving surfaced ...
and
RNLI
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...
vessels were also sent to the scene. Investigators from the
Air Accident Investigation Unit
The Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) ( ga, An tAonad um Imscrúdú Aerthionóiscí) is part of the Department of Transport of Ireland, and is responsible for the investigation of aircraft accidents and serious incidents within Ireland, and ...
attended the scene on the same day. The Naval Service flagship
LÉ ''Eithne'' joined the search effort that afternoon, and both Naval Service vessels continued the search throughout the night and into the next day.
''Eithne'' was made on-scene coordinator of the recovery mission. The
Marine Institute
The Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland, popularly referred to as the Marine Institute (MI) or simply Marine, is a post-secondary ocean and marine polytechnic located in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ca ...
's RV ''Celtic Voyager'' was dispatched on the night of 14 March to search using
multibeam echosounder
A multibeam echosounder (MBES) is a type of sonar that is used to map the seabed. It emits acoustic waves in a fan shape beneath its transceiver. The time it takes for the sound waves to reflect off the seabed and return to the receiver is used ...
s to help locate the wreckage. The
Commissioners of Irish Lights
The Commissioners of Irish Lights ( ga, Coimisinéirí Soilse na hÉireann), often shortened to Irish Lights or CIL, is the body that serves as the general lighthouse authority for Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and their adjacen ...
also sent the ILV ''Granuaile'', an advanced multifunctional vessel, to the scene. The Marine Institute's work class ROV Holland one was mobilised onto the Granuaile in Galway harbour .
The vessel is equipped with a dynamic positioning system which allows it to operate in difficult sea conditions, cranes capable of hoisting recovered wreckage and a helicopter platform. The
Geological Survey of Ireland
Geological Survey Ireland or Geological Survey of IrelandS.I. No. 300/2002 - Communications, Energy and Geological Survey of Ireland (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2002 ( ga, Suirbhéireacht Gheolaíochta ...
surveyed the underwater region and carried out detailed mapping where the search was focused on to aid diving teams in the recovery of the wreckage. The Navy's
LÉ ''Samuel Beckett'' later joined the recovery efforts and assumed command as the on-scene coordinator.
On the afternoon of 15 March, a
signal transmitting from the helicopter's
flight recorder
A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may often be referred to as a "black box", an outdated name which has b ...
had been received by a team from the Irish Marine Institute using
USBL
The United States Basketball League (USBL) was a professional men's spring basketball league. The league was formed in 1985 and ceased operations in 2008. The USBL started in 1985 as one of the first basketball leagues to play a late-spring to ...
equipment from a local fishing vessel.
The signal emanated at around southwest of
Blackrock Island, west of the coast at Blacksod Bay. On 16 March, AAIU investigators were airlifted onto the helipad at Blackrock lighthouse, where a significant section of wreckage from Rescue 116 was found on the high rocky island. From the examination of this tail section AAIU investigators believe that the tail of the helicopter made contact with the western slopes of Blackrock.
The preliminary report by AAIU investigators found that the helicopter had hit the island, which was registered in the craft's GPS mapping system but not on EGPWS. (EGPWS) is a legacy capable Class A terrain awareness and warning system (TAWS) designed for digitally equipped aircraft.
Intense SAR operations continued on
Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patr ...
on 17 March.
Captain Dara Fitzpatrick's funeral took place on 18 March in
Glencullen
Glencullen () is a village and townland in the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown in south County Dublin, Ireland. It is also the name of the valley above one end of which the village sits, and from which it takes its name, and is on the R ...
,
County Dublin
"Action to match our speech"
, image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg
, map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...
. Poor weather conditions continued to impede the search.
Air Corps resourcing issues
In the aftermath of the incident, the
Defence Forces The phrase Defence Force(s) (or Defense Force(s) in US English - see spelling differences) is in the title of the armed forces of certain countries and territories.
Defence forces
* Ambazonia Defence Forces
*Artsakh Defence Army
* Australian Defen ...
said in a statement that the Air Corps had originally been contacted at 10:06 pm on 13 March by the Coast Guard, with a request to provide top cover to Rescue 118 which was tasked with evacuating a fisherman to hospital from a vessel west of the Mayo coast. In search and rescue opearations, top cover is when a second aircraft is used to relay communications between a rescue aircraft far from land and its co-ordination centre on the shore. In the Service Level Agreement (SLA) between the
Department of Defence Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to:
Current departments of defence
* Department of Defence (Australia)
* Department of National Defence (Canada)
* Department of Defence (Ireland)
* Department of National Defense (Philipp ...
and the
Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
The Department of Transport ( ga, An Roinn Iompair) is a department of the Government of Ireland that is responsible for transport policy and overseeing transport services and infrastructure. The department is led by the Minister for Transport ...
, the "provision and tasking of Air Corps assets
son an 'as available' basis". The Air Corps denied the request because of a staff shortage in experienced and trained personnel, which made it unable to operate an "out-of-hours" roster. This meant Rescue 116 was deployed instead to provide top cover. Following the Blacksod incident, an ''Irish Times'' report highlighted how resourcing issues delayed the Air Corps involvement in the rescue, and highlighted that Air Corps' CASA maritime patrol fixed-wing aircraft have advantages over CHC operated helicopters in top-cover situations, in that they can arrive "twice as fast" and "remain circling in its higher vantage point for up to nine hours".
At 1:45 am, an hour after last contact from Rescue 116, the Coast Guard made an emergency request for assistance to the Air Corps to help search for the missing SAR helicopter. The Air Corps activated its recall plan and 3 hours and 45 minutes after the Coast Guard's initial request for top cover, a CASA CN-235 maritime patrol aircraft was airborne.
The Defence Forces said that in 2017 three requests for top cover had to be refused due to reduced availability.
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
(Prime Minister)
Enda Kenny
Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 2017, Leader of the Opposition from ...
, who was also
Minister for Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
, said that it was "well known" that the Air Corps had lost a number of personnel such as pilots and air traffic controllers in recent years. Minister with responsibility for Defence
Paul Kehoe
Paul Kehoe (born 11 January 1973) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Wexford constituency since 2002. He was appointed Chair of the Committee on Education, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovat ...
said that reduction in the capacity of the Air Corps was notified in summer 2016 to agencies and that the Department of Defence had made other arrangements in that regard.
Since the crash took place, there have remained safety concerns for search and rescue helicopter services in Ireland, with problems including cartographic errors and omissions, problems with the navigational software, inadequate life jackets and a lack of oversight of the Search and Rescue service.
Wreckage recovery and search for the missing
![Black Rock Island - County Mayo - Ireland](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Black_Rock_Island_-_County_Mayo_-_Ireland.jpg)
On 22 March, the wreckage from R116 was found by the Marine Institute ''Holland 1''
ROV after signals from the flight data recorder pinger were received as well as some items of wreckage on Blackrock. There were hopes that the bodies of the missing crew members could be found in the wreckage.
On 24 March, Naval Service divers recovered the
flight recorder
A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may often be referred to as a "black box", an outdated name which has b ...
from the wreckage on the sea bed on the eastern side of Blackrock, at a depth of 40 metres. Air Accident Investigation Unit chief inspector Jurgen Whyte confirmed that the black box was "visually in good condition" and would be flown under escort to the UK
Air Accidents Investigation Branch
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) investigates civil aircraft accidents and serious incidents within the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and crown dependencies. It is also the Space Accident Investigation Authority (SAIA) ...
for the data to be downloaded.
Later on the same day Naval divers discovered the body of one of the three missing crew members in the cockpit section of the wreckage.
On 26 March the body of the crew member was retrieved from the wreckage by NSDS divers and identified as that of co-pilot Captain Mark Duffy.
On 30 March, the funeral took place of Captain Duffy in County Louth.
Throughout the recovery attempts weather and sea conditions have forced diving to be suspended for long periods for safety reasons. The large sea surface and underwater swells and currents around Blackrock Island have been making it dangerous for divers to operate and
decompress safely from the 40m depths at which the wreckage lies. In tandem with wreckage salvage there were extensive aerial, sea and coastline searches.
On 1 April, The AAIU announced no mechanical anomalies were identified from initial data from the recorders and therefore no additional safety actions would be required on similar helicopter types. The AAIU also stated they intended to make a preliminary report in the near future. A superintendent from Belmullet Gardaí said that the wreckage recovery of a section of the wreckage should take a matter of hours once suitable conditions arose to enable a safe lift.
On the evening of 2 April, the main bulk of the helicopter was raised from the sea and placed aboard the Irish Lights vessel ''Granuaile''. After the lifting of the wreckage, it was confirmed that there was still no sighting of either winch operator Paul Ormsby or winch man Ciáran Smith. The search for the missing crew members continues.
On 3 April, the Irish Coastguard indicated to the families of the missing crewmen not to give up hope as they would continue searching for the missing crewmen. At the suggestion of local fisherman the families of the missing crewman also appealed for fishermen and seafarers in Donegal and elsewhere where wreckage debris had been found or was likely to join in the search as their local knowledge would be invaluable.
On the weekend of 8 April 2017 over 110 fishing vessels joined RNLI lifeboats, Irish Coast Guard and others in a co-ordinated sweep of over 8,500 square kilometres from Blacksod to Donegal in one of the largest sea searches in Irish maritime history. As the missing were not located the next phase would be targeted searches and vigilance of special areas of interest.
Tributes
The Rescue 116 helicopter with the same four crew members involved in the crash was present in Series 3 Episode 1 of the Irish TV show Paramedics, after being called in to assist in the extraction of a teenage boy with a dislocated patella within a remote field, three weeks before the fatal Rescue 116 crash. Rescue 116 was unable to land in the field due to electrical cables and livestock which would have made it unsafe to land, and so, Rescue 116 was forced to return to its base. A tribute was made by the paramedics involved in the rescue of the teenage boy within the episode.
Final report and inquests
The
Air Accident Investigation Unit
The Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) ( ga, An tAonad um Imscrúdú Aerthionóiscí) is part of the Department of Transport of Ireland, and is responsible for the investigation of aircraft accidents and serious incidents within Ireland, and ...
circulated a 333 page draft version of the final report into the crash in November 2019.
The report was delayed, prompting a review - the first in the 25 year history of the AAIU.
[ The final report was published on 5 November 2021.
On 2 June 2022 the jury at the inquests into the deaths delivered a verdict of accidental death.]
References
External links
Final Report
of the AAIU
{{DEFAULTSORT:Irish Coast Guard Rescue crash
2017 in Ireland
Accidents and incidents involving the Sikorsky S-92
Aviation accidents and incidents involving controlled flight into terrain
Aviation accidents and incidents in 2017
Aviation accidents and incidents in Ireland
March 2017 events in Ireland
2017 disasters in Ireland