Irish Helicopters Ltd

[Eket]

Another one of our machines (Irish Helicopters) ended up in Nigeria .

EI-BFH - 5N-AJL Bell 212 30878

Sadly I learned the she crashed in a river delta there , in 1998 I think . ALl hands lost !!!

Sad , amazing how you can get attached to a particular machine .

Anyone know what happened to her , the cause of the accident . I heard it was fire I think .

[Eket]

So , post your stuff here folks .

I worked with them for awhile at Cork Airport , mech and structures .

Ive lost contact with almost everybody . I did have some contact with Pat McCarthy , but sadly my email addy got hacked and I lost all my addresses too .

Anyone know how these folk are doing ?

Jim Egan , Stan Horan , Brendan White , Mick Bowe , Dick Murrey , Mick Whealan , John Carney , Mick Fitzgerald , Mick Connelly , John Cooper , Stanley Lane , Rockey Foster , Guy Perrim , Mick Hennessy ?

Most of these people lived either in or around Carrigaline , Co.Cork .

I hear Captain Connelly is now retired .

Pat McCarthy is a Snap-On dealer somewhere in OZ .

Post yer pics and stories folks .

This should be good !!!

[bolkow]

Re EI-BFH

Theguys at Irish Helicopters said they thought she had shed a main blade, but other sources including the Griffin Helicopter accident database listed it as main gearbox failure.
Thats the ship the Pope was flying around in during his 1979 visit to Ireland and if I recall correctly spend her later years on the Kinsale gas field flying out of Cork.

[212man]

The guys at Irish Helicopters said they thought she had shed a main blade, but other sources including the Griffin Helicopter accident database listed it as main gearbox failure.

It was neither - it was a sheared bolt in the swashplate rotating drive link that resulted in one of the blades losing pitch control. The vibration was so severe that the tail boom detached and the MGB tore itself from its mounting bolts and remained attached by the lift link - though somewhat free to move around.

Sadly I learned the she crashed in a river delta there , in 1998 I think . All hands lost

They fell into the river near Onni Port, with no control at all. There were survivors (5 I think) but I think 6 died including the RHS pilot. The pilot in the LHS (who was actually a pax, but on a management visit) survived and is on these forums. He described the descent as like being in free-fall and remarked that he found it surreal to watch bits of the aircraft fall past him on the way down (such as the exhausts!)

I won't describe the cause of the bolt failure, but it was gross negligence that probably warranted a manslaughter charge!

[bolkow]

so it was'nt a pitch control rod but something further down underneath that? Just curious because I once spoke to a mechanic in the hangar in cork who was working on that machine who told me that its pitch rods were interchangable with the bell 205 and that it was 205 pitch rods he had fitted on that occasion for that reason. My memory though timing wise is not accurate and that could have been anytime in the the few years befroe it finished with Irish Helicopters. I do recall though that it had new main blades fitted in the months before departure for Nigeria or wherever it went to, and being told it had airframe hours of 10000 around that point.

[212man]

Definitely nothing to do with the PCRs.

[stacey_s]

212 I totally agree with your last comment, unfortunately the individual involved is back in aviation and working in a Quality Department!!!

[mtoroshanga]

I remember that one and as you say Stace, thats where that type usually end up.

[Eket]

Naa ..... that was EI-BFH ..... the popemobile . Spent all her time on the Kinsale gas line after slinging the pope around .

[Eket]

Sad story .....

[SASless]

I did my US ATPL ride at the Bell factory in a Bell 412 with an air stair door that had been used by the Pope....and also delivered the first South African bound 58T to the Liverpool Docks after a very interesting ferry flight and revenue flight out of Blackpool. I will have to dig out the log book and see who was with me on that bit of fun. Memory says it was Bobby Herbert.

[Eket]

Sorry , my mistake , EI-BFH was the popemobile .

Redirect Notice

You can see the papel crest on the exhaust cowling .

[bolkow]

yes it was definitely EI-BFH that acted as the Pope's main helicopter during the visit. There was a Bundesgrenschutz Puma from the German Border police hired by the Irish police and a pair of Sikorky S61N's from KLM, I think one of them was PH-NZK but odnt remember the ohter registration, anyone got pics?

[500 Fan]

EI-BFH was the Irish Helicopters Bell 212 that transported the Pope during he majority of his visit. I believe Sean Oakes was one of the pilots. The floats were removed and steps were fitted to the skids. I don't know if the interior got the V.I.P. treatment.

Irish Helicopters BO-105 EI-BDI was also used to transport additional personnel (Bishops, I believe) during the Papal Visit although it didn't carry any special markings.

PH-NZD and PH-NZK were the pair of KLM S-61Ns leased by Irish Helicopters for the visit. They carried "Irish Helicopters" and "Aer Lingus" markings along with the Papal Crest. PH-NZK carried the Pope on three occasions during this visit with -NZD on standby as a reserve. They must have been running behind time on the last flight in this helicopter from Greenpark Racecourse in Limerick to Shannon because the pilot shot a slightly spectacular and beautifully executed quick-stop onto the ramp next to the Boeing 747 taking the Pope to the U.S.A.

The Gardai borrowed three Pumas from the Bundesgrenzschutz, with one of them being D-HAXT. I believe the crews for these helicopters consisted of the pair of German pilots along with an Irish Air Corps pilot acting as observer. These Pumas carried large "GARDA" titles in white.

The Irish Air Corps used the Alouette III during the visit in support of Army Operations.

I can recall being present at Ballybrit Racecourse for the visit and enjoying the exotic array of rotorcraft on display, even as a seven year old!

500 Fan.

[Savoia]

Irish Helicopters Bell 212 EI-BFH photographed on 9th July 1988 in Dublin prior to the Papal visit (Photo: Fergal Goodman)


EI-BFH departing Dublin on 1st October 1979 with HH aboard (Photo: Gianfranco Gorgoni)

I have an image of EI-BFH (replete with the late John Paul's Coat of Arms) in my private collection from my days in Eire and which I shall fish out next time I'm over in Blighty.


John Paul II disembarking a KLM 61 during his Irish visit in October 1979


PH-NZK departs Knock with HH aboard (Photo: Tim Graham)

[bolkow]

The Puma I saw was D-HAXS, I honestly was not aware there was three of them, I thought there was only one. This thread is getting interesting

[bolkow]

Interesting that first photographer Fergal Goodman, I wondewr if it the same Fergal Goodman who was completing flying training at Wexford aeroclub as I was beginning mine? That was fixed wing on a beagle pup and ralleye morane.
Of interest also is the absence of any fod defelctors on the s61 in those days.

[Eket]

Sean Oakes ..... LMAO . I was workin down in Eket (Aqua Ibom , Nigeria) with Bristows , and there was a video playing in my bedroom at the Princess Suites , 5 star my arse !!! I was lying on the floor when I heard his beedy little Irish voice

My mouth hit the floor when Sean Oakes was on the TV , in the video . He was acting the part of a helicopter pilot , in the hangar at QIT (Qua Ibo Terminal) an oil storage facility ..... the movie was something about a Ju-Ju and he had to rescue some bird with his chopper . I remember the line was something like this .

The bird in question asked him was he a pilot , and he told her that he had a helicopter waiting outside just for her ..... I laughed for 6 weeks .

That doesnt sound like him , rescueing women with his chopper !!!

About that Puma ..... I thought there had been only one leased too . Obviously wrong again .

Irish Heli's were busy in dem days . Bloody disgrace that they disapeared . Great company to work for , brilliant crew with a lot of laughs .

I hear Joe Durnan passed away too ?

Whats Mick Connelly doing these days , still flyin Bolkow's ?

[500 Fan]

Here is Capt. Conneely heading out for another week's flying on the Irish Lights contract in June 2008. I believe he has indeed retired.

500 Fan.

[Eket]

Captain Connelly ..... I never called him that .

I remember going out with him and a bunch of others one night , near Kinsale . We went down as a convoy , he had a light blue Fiat 127 .

We all got tanked up and when heading for the cars for the way back to his house , we spotted his car and decided to steal his back seat . We threw the seat in the back of the car we were in . Got back to his house and put the seat in his back garden . Sat out there drinking a beer watchin all the girls peeing in his garden and chuckleing to ourselves , they didnt see us .

I asked some of the people who came back in his car "how was the journey" ..... they said it was fine . Man , I was getting confused at that point . So I went outside for a look at Connelly's car and the seat was still in the back of it !!!

Turned out there was a 2nd light blue Fiat 127 at the pub ..... we had nicked the wrong seat from the wrong car !!!

Always wondered what the owner thought . The radio was still there , wheels and all , but his back seat was gone . We laughed for ages about that .

Whats Guy Perrim doing now . He used to be the storeman for IHL in Cork , then he ended up buying the company and opperating outta Dublin . Does he still own it ?

Stan Horan ?
Brendan White ?
Mick Whelan ?
Dick Murrey ?
Mick Bowe ?
Rockey Foster ?
Jim Egan ?

I know Pat McCarthy is in OZ now .

I guess their all retired now ?

EI-BLD is still flyin !!! I used to work on that too . She must be pretty high time now .