My reading of the report is they did not impact the building, they impacted rock at the western end of the island. Debris from that collision landed on the building and damaged the roof tiles. Had the aircraft hit the building there would be far more damage than just to roof tiles.
It seems from the preliminary report the light for some reason was not visible to any of the crew or there surely would have been some comment made on it.I have flown quite a bit with Irish SAR crews and having now read that report I find that quite strange. With respect,and in a professional manner, they talk about everything of relevance that they observe during a flight. That the front nor rear crew did not observe and report any lighthouse causes me to believe it was not visible for some reason. I know it is stated the light was "on" by the automated system, but how accurate that is to the actual state of the light is unproveable.
Originally Posted by
mini
Can't help but ask the obvious, they hit a building meters from a confirmed operational lighthouse?
If they were low enough to collide with something, surely they should have seen the light?