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

If they were outside of the normal approach profile for the selected landing site, yes, and that low so far from Blacksod would fit the criteria for "outside".

Re using Blackrock, I will suggest an abundance of caution, in that Blackrock would show up as a separate source from the data provided by the GPS/Navigation system, the AIS beacon would show it, so even if they were hand flying, and not correcting for wind, by flying over Blackrock, then carrying out the teardrop procedure turn back to Blackrock, they would have validated the start of their let down leg for the return to Blacksod. and been able to get the relevant winds at altitude data for the descent, which would then be factored into their descent rate to ensure they arrived at target with enough distance remaining to the coast. And yes, the automation on the aircraft would have been well able to give them a line to follow both horizontally and vertically, and those same on board systems can do exactly the same for a moving target like a trawler.

Belt, braces and a piece of string in some respects, (GPS, INS, AIS, VOR/DME) but that's how these guys did everything they could to protect themselves from mistakes.

From the information that's been released, the staff at Blacksod were expecting them, and they had notified Shannon that they were going into the approach pattern for Blacksod. While not officially confirmed in any information I have seen, Blackrock was not deemed a suitable site for S92 operations due to the size of the machine and the space around the helipad, so while the locations would have been in their database, it's unlikely that it would have been selectable as a landing site without considerable additional work beyond selecting the location, which should have triggered mental warnings if not more.

Yes, it is possible that due to extreme circumstances as yet undetermined, an emergency landing on Blackrock was being attempted, if that proves to be the case, there is a whole new direction for the investigation to go towards. Given that the landing pad was on the top of the rock, there would still have been warnings sounding if they were too low, the best way to describe it would be to think of a funnel without a spout, sitting on the intended landing locations, assuming no high ground around the immediate area, if you go below the limits of the cone of the funnel, then a warning will be triggered, if there is specific high ground inside the limit of the funnel and above it, then that will generate a warning at a higher level.

If all the aircraft systems were working, which for now we have to assume, they would have known exactly where they were, (horizontally and vertically) and what was around them. If critical (multiple) avionics systems had failed, their "escape" would have been something along the lines of a vertical climb to a safe altitude, with a recovery to a suitable landing locations, with "suitable" being a variable, depending on the nature of the failure/s, the remaining fuel reserves, and the weather conditions at their potential alternates. Their other option in up to sea state 6 (12 to 20 Ft waves) would have been a water landing, as that is the limit for the flotation devices that are fitted.

And yes, hopefully, we will have some closure for the families, and in the fullness of time, we will hopefully also have some meaningful data from the flight data recorder that will give some clues to the AAIU team.

It's also important for the rest of the crews that are still operating S92's in Ireland and around the world, if this accident has happened as a result of some form of failure of the aircraft, then the manufacturer and other operators need to know that as a matter of urgency, so that action can be taken to correct whatever had caused this tragedy.

The one thing we can be sure of, if the AAIU find anything relating to a failure of the aircraft, while their full report may take considerable time before it is released, there will be interim findings released that will provide enough information for the relevant regulators to take urgent action if it is needed.