Rescue 116 Crash at Blackrock, Co Mayo(Mod note in post 1)

Gadgetman496

LE Eithne en-route to Blackrock now.

Gadgetman496

Shane_ef wrote: »

TheChizler post is still amusing tho

Thank God nobody needs either of us to go get them!

weisses

What ship is accommodating a diving team ?

Gadgetman496

weisses wrote: »

What ship is accommodating a diving team ?

Granguaile

Gadgetman496

Granguaile appears to be heading back to Blacksod Bay now.

TheChizler

Shane_ef wrote: »

TheChizler post is still amusing tho

Is it? Didn't intend it to be. That's genuinely how I go looking for SAR when I see a mention of them online. I say this as a total novice.

Mr Velo

Granuaile on way back in now.

Atlantic Dawn

The main wreckage of the helicopter found by ROV according to TV3 News just now.

GBX

RTE reporting wreckage found

https://twitter.com/patmcgrath/status/844530495941738497

Mr Velo

Gadgetman496 wrote: »

LE Eithne en-route to Blackrock now.

Carrying family members of the missing crew according to RTE News.

Veloce

Grainuaile is on it's way back to Blacksod.

Gadgetman496

Well according to weather reports there is bad weather forecast for the next 24hrs with a three day window opening on Friday. Hopefully they will be able to reunite the missing crew with their loved ones during that window.

Dwarf.Shortage

Would the ROV be capable of determining if the crew were inside?

Irish Steve

From the RTE News at 1, it seems that while they now have an exact location for "significant wreckage", the weather window they need to get close to the site with suitable equipment for closer investigation and lifting may not present itself for a couple of days.

We can only hope that the 3 missing members of the crew will be recovered soon, so that the families can indeed have some closure.

weisses

Dwarf.Shortage wrote: »

Would the ROV be capable of determining if the crew were inside?

Yes ...

ChikiChiki

Mr Velo wrote: »

Granuaile appears to be sitting to the south east of Black Rock all morning. I thought it was the west side that was the area of interest.

Wreckage found on the east side.

Gadgetman496

Dwarf.Shortage wrote: »

Would the ROV be capable of determining if the crew were inside?

I guess it would depend on the way the wreckage is positioned on the sea bed and its condition, but normally I would think it would be able to do so.

Dwarf.Shortage

Gadgetman496 wrote: »

I guess it would depend on the way the wreckage is positioned on the sea bed and its condition, but normally I would think it would be able to do so.

Hopefully the families can have closure soon so.

Mr Velo

Gadgetman496 wrote: »

Dwarf.Shortage wrote: »

Would the ROV be capable of determining if the crew were inside?

I guess it would depend on the way the wreckage is positioned on the sea bed and its condition, but normally I would think it would be able to do so.

Confirmed on RTE News that the ROV would be able to determine if the crew are inside.

Sterling Archer

It's great to here, Hopefully some closure for the families, brings the tears back tho

Gadgetman496

Le Eithne heading back in now too.

A great day's work by all concerned.

Pinch Flat

It'll be nice to see some closure soon hopefully for the families of those missing, it must be a terrible time for them. Amazing effort by all involved in this recovery operation.

challengemaster

Jurgen Whyte of the Air Accident Investigation Unit said it was the "absolute hope" that the crew are with the wreckage.

"It's hugely positive, we could hear the beacon, we were homing in on the beacon and the proof in the pie is we have located the main part of the wreckage which is the helicopter itself.
"We have the wreckage so it's just a matter of getting the weather window to get the ROV down, work our way through the wreckage and hopefully we will be able to recover the crew," Mr Whyte said.

A statement from the Air Accident Investigation Unit reads; "The AAIU in consultation with An Garda Síochána, the Navy, the Coast Guard, the GSI and the Marine Institute wish to advise that following initial Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) operations the wreckage of R116 has been positively located on the sea bed on the Eastern side of Black Rock, at a depth of approx. 40m.
"Operations are continuing but are weather dependent."

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/hugely-significant-discovery-as-underwater-robot-locates-rescue-116-wreckage-35555312.html

Great progress, just hope the weather stays calm on Friday

Gadgetman496

Both the Le Eithne and Granuaile are back in Blacksod now.

Junkyard Tom

Okay I'm a layperson when it comes to this stuff, so go easy on me, but could these helicopters essentially fly with zero out-the-window visibility using the onboard technology to 'see' everything around them?

purplesnack

Junkyard Tom, I was privileged to get a ride in one of these helis a year or two ago and one of the pilots was flying the heli using the instruments alone, with the other pilot monitoring everything. For me who knows nothing about flying, it was incredible to watch.

I have nothing but admiration for these crews and the job they do and I hope the three missing men are reunited with their families soon.

Irish Steve

Technically, yes, and once clear of the ground, they can and do so on a regular basis, but with a large rotor disc above the cabin, you don't get close to the ground on the way down without knowing exactly where you are, and what is around you. On a licensed airfield, the obstructions are charted so that you know where they are, but anywhere else, there's no telling what poles, electricity cables or similar may be waiting to snare you,

The reality is that even in cloud or fog, you have some external visibility, so with the ability of the helicopter to hover, that makes a difference, and the S92 has some very capable automation systems that can provide guidance or automatic flight into pretty much any point, but that clearly is not an invitation to just do it anyway, there will be rules applicable to every operator depending on the nature of the flights they are carrying out.

For an overview of what the S92 can do, there's a Sikorsky sales PDF brochure at https://www.google.ie/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=10&ved=0ahUKEwj3yZqlserSAhVCB8AKHeTHAhYQFghDMAk&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lockheedmartin.com%2Fcontent%2Fdam%2Flockheed%2Fdata%2Fms2%2Fphoto%2FSikorsky%2FS-92%2FSikorsky-S92-search-rescue-helicopter-brochure.pdf&usg=AFQjCNFOUoZd5hzvKrbTrUHIHI3ZMWHidw&cad=rja which has a lot of very specific information about the type.

Irish Steve

Irish Steve wrote: »

The reality is that even in cloud or fog, you have some external visibility, so with the ability of the helicopter to hover, that makes a difference, and the S92 has some very capable automation systems that can provide guidance or automatic flight into pretty much any point,

Plus it has 2 x 450W landing lights, a pilot controllable 450W searchlight and a Nightsun XP which is a 1600-Watt Xenon searchlight. All of this should be able to cut through fog for a far enough distance to visually land safely.

Sterling Archer

I think now is a good moment to post the Volunteers links for just two of the great services working tirelessly to bring home the rest of the crew

RNLI and ICG

Both do great work, as all we here are well aware.

Personally I'm not in a position at the moment but I feel its good for people to be aware of the links

Checked with mods, amend and edit as needed

ectoraige

Shane_ef wrote: »

I think now is a good moment to post the Volunteers links for just two of the great services working tirelessly to bring home the rest of the crew

RNLI and ICG

Both do great work, as all we here are well aware.

Personally I'm not in a position at the moment but I feel its good for people to be aware of the links

Checked with mods, amend and edit as needed

Should mention the Civil Defence as well, they've had drone operators on scene from as far afield as Cork helping with the shoreline search in hard to reach areas.