Two killed in helicopter crash in Bog of Allen

Tabnabs

02/04/2009 - 13:57:06
A training instructor and a student pilot have died in a helicopter crash in the Bog of Allen in Co Kildare.

The pair took off from Weston Airport near Dublin at around 5pm yesterday, but failed to return.

A search was mounted today and the Coastguard rescue helicopter from Dublin Airport spotted the wreckage in an isolated area of bog near the Kildare-Meath border at around midday today.

The Irish Aviation Authority is co-ordinated an investigation into the crash.

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/eyauojkfgbql/

joewicklow

I used to do auturotation training in the Bog of Allen. Very sad.

lmimmfn

Devastated, Colm( the instructor - known as Jumbo to his mates ) was one of the nicest guys you can ever meet, a long time family friend, he was one of my( if not my ) best mates and was to be groomsman at my wedding later this year. We grew up together

My condolences go out to his family, RIP one of the best guys ever, ill have a Jamey for you jumbo!!!!!!

My condolences also go out to the trainees family

Shocking is all i can say

Manic Moran

lmimmfn wrote: »

and was to be groomsman at my wedding later this year. We grew up together

Aha. So you are on Boards.

NTM

spadder

It said on the news they may have flown into power lines obscured by the sun.

lostexpectation

Alarm at chopper crash that was not noticed for 19 hours
http://www.herald.ie/national-news/alarm-at-chopper-crash-that-was-not-noticed-for-19-hours-1697157.html

Run_to_da_hills

lmimmfn wrote: »

Devastated, Colm( the instructor - known as Jumbo to his mates ) was one of the nicest guys you can ever meet, a long time family friend, he was one of my( if not my ) best mates and was to be groomsman at my wedding later this year. We grew up together

My condolences go out to his family, RIP one of the best guys ever, ill have a Jamey for you jumbo!!!!!!

My condolences also go out to the trainees family

Shocking is all i can say

Did this guy have the Chopper displayed at the recent RDS bike show? There was a guy there with an identical machine offering courses, (I recognised the multi V Belt drive train in the wreck) I was chatting to him for ages about the mechanics of the machine and the course itself.

RIP to the Guy and his trainee.

Preset No.3

I was deeply saddened and shocked when I heard the news. I myself was finishing my heli training in the UK during the week. So I was doing lots of autorotations and power off landings and confined area landings. My instructor drills it into me about looking out for power lines. It is such a simple mistake, and these men paid the ultimate price.

When I got home today, I was on the phone to my mother who was near tears because she knew I was doing the exact same thing this week. I passed all my exams, but the weather turned on thursday and the cloud base dropped to 600ft so I couldnt do my flight test.

My heartfelt sympathies go to the families of all concerned, and also to the families of the 2 pilots killed last year flying out of weston, whos old wounds will be reopened on hearing the news.

lmimmfn

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

Did this guy have the Chopper displayed at the recent RDS bike show? There was a guy there with an identical machine offering courses, (I recognised the multi V Belt drive train in the wreck) I was chatting to him for ages about the mechanics of the machine and the course itself.

RIP to the Guy and his trainee.

i doubt it, he never mentioned it but i was abroad since christmas, and have only been chatting to him a few times since christmas as we'd normally have a catch up and go for our usual easter beers next week

Run_to_da_hills

lmimmfn wrote: »

i doubt it, he never mentioned it but i was abroad since christmas, and have only been chatting to him a few times since christmas as we'd normally have a catch up and go for our usual easter beers next week

I still have this guys business card somewhere.

T-Square

Wasn't CKing was it? he flew a 300C and had it in the RDS too.

Fishtits

Very sad. RIP to those killed and condolences to their families and friends.

I'm not a pilot but I have spent time in and around helicopters, this incident reminds me of something a South African pilot mentioned over beers one night, he said its better to look for pylons/poles rather than wires when flying low, they're easier to spot.

News reports have mentioned that the wires this helo struck were unpowered at the time, presumably they were local bog/BnM infrastructure, would they appear on a map/chart?

T-Square

I googled Colm King, but couldn't find him.

Mr Benevolent

Did they actually hit the wires or notice them too late and pull/push too hard? That said, the pics look as though the aircraft stopped and came straight down.

RIP

May we all learn what we can from this.

josey_whale

As someone very close to this accident (Colm's brother), I'd point out that saying the accident is down to pilot error is pure speculation. There has been alot of untruths written in the media about this tragic accident - This is a fact.

It has been said that they were practicing autorotation. It has also been said that hitting the unused power lines caused the accident. There has also been much talk about Air Traffic Control proceedures - none of us know for sure what happened that day. The only people that truely know what happened on that fateful evening are Colm and Dermot (the student). Sadly they are no longer with us to tell their side of the story.

There is currently an investigation being carried out by the Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) and also by the Gardai. To say that the accident was caused by this or by that or anything else is nothing less than speculation

We as a family hope that the AAIU can peice together what exactly happened on that day - a preliminary report is due within two months, but the final report may not be published for a couple of years. We hope that the findings/reccomendations of this report will be implemented so that a tragedy such as this is not repeated.

While tragic, both these guys died following their dream.

RIP Colm and Dermot. You will never be forgotten

FlutterinBantam

josey_whale wrote: »

As someone very close to this accident (Colm's brother), I'd point out that saying the accident is down to pilot error is pure speculation. There has been alot of untruths written in the media about this tragic accident - This is a fact.

It has been said that they were practicing autorotation. It has also been said that hitting the unused power lines caused the accident. There has also been much talk about Air Traffic Control proceedures - none of us know for sure what happened that day. The only people that truely know what happened on that fateful evening are Colm and Dermot (the student). Sadly they are no longer with us to tell their side of the story.

There is currently an investigation being carried out by the Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) and also by the Gardai. To say that the accident was caused by this or by that or anything else is nothing less than speculation

We as a family hope that the AAIU can peice together what exactly happened on that day - a preliminary report is due within two months, but the final report may not be published for a couple of years. We hope that the findings/reccomendations of this report will be implemented so that a tragedy such as this is not repeated.

While tragic, both these guys died following their dream.

RIP Colm and Dermot. You will never be forgotten

Well said, and condolences.

FB

Run_to_da_hills

FlutterinBantam wrote: »

Well said, and condolences.

FB

+1

pclancy

Josey I would like to offer our sympathies for your tragic loss. I agree that anything said here is just speculation and until the investigation is completed we wont be sure of what went wrong. After any type of aviation accident there is a natural tendancy within those that fly or are interested in aviation to want to know what went wrong and debate through speculation about what did happen to know how it can be avoided again. As your rightly pointed out the only people who know what happened were those that were there and anything said on here by anyone without factual basis is just pure speculation.

I have an urge to close this thread to prevent any offence or further speculation but it might be better to leave it as a place to pay respects and where more information that comes from sources such as the AAIU or Gardai can be shared for those that wish to know more.

I will stress that any unfactual speculation about the cause of this incident will result in a forum ban without warning. Respect the wishes of the families involved and only share factual information

RIP Colm and Dermot

josey_whale wrote: »

As someone very close to this accident (Colm's brother), I'd point out that saying the accident is down to pilot error is pure speculation. There has been alot of untruths written in the media about this tragic accident - This is a fact.

It has been said that they were practicing autorotation. It has also been said that hitting the unused power lines caused the accident. There has also been much talk about Air Traffic Control proceedures - none of us know for sure what happened that day. The only people that truely know what happened on that fateful evening are Colm and Dermot (the student). Sadly they are no longer with us to tell their side of the story.

There is currently an investigation being carried out by the Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) and also by the Gardai. To say that the accident was caused by this or by that or anything else is nothing less than speculation

We as a family hope that the AAIU can peice together what exactly happened on that day - a preliminary report is due within two months, but the final report may not be published for a couple of years. We hope that the findings/reccomendations of this report will be implemented so that a tragedy such as this is not repeated.

While tragic, both these guys died following their dream.

RIP Colm and Dermot. You will never be forgotten