The heli was booked in to land at Caernarfon Airport at 1700 L and there was no sign of it. Got a departure notice that they left EGAB at 1602 L therefore they must have crashed soon after. Horrible to think I was one of the last people to speak with the pilot.
EGAB to EGCK does not take the flight close to the Mourne Mountains. As far as I can tell the accident site would be about 10+ miles off the direct track between the two aerodromes.
From the initial uncertainty about the POB, I wonder if a flight plan was flied? (It would have to be for the direct route which crosses the FIR boundary).
Why would such a flight avoid taking the direct routing option and use a route that took it over high ground and would cause an extended over-water flight compared to the direct route?