Weather was poor at Blacksod last night. 116 had made contact for a refuel at the lighthouse. 116 apparently terminated the first approach and was in the process of attempting a second approach when contact was lost.

AIS shows it heading out beyond Black Rock before turning around and heading roughly back toward Blacksod before the signal disappears around Black Rock.

There was ADS-B and it shows the aircraft crossing the country and crossing the Ballycroy hills at 3500 feet. However, there does not appear to be ADS-B coverage at low level in the area of the accident, so things like altitude just prior to the accident is not available.

The CHC / ICG S92s are Mode-S only, the positions on FR24 / Planeplotter etc are MLAT guesstimates. At the time of introduciton there was no certified ADS-B transponder for the '92.

However they do broadcast GPS-derived position on AIS, which is not considered a safety-of-flight system.

Folks....immediately speculating the Tail Rotor Bearing issue played a role in this is exceedingly premature and does not needs to be a part of this thread yet.

How about holding such comments and limiting such speculation to known facts like weather, mission issues, and most importantly status of the people on board the aircraft!

Is not the welfare of the crew, passengers if any, their families and friends the most important thing right now?

It is interesting to see someones head has a 180 turn when comes to his soft spot.

My understanding of the Tail Rotor issue is that it results in effectively a 'fixed pitch' situation. It does not result in complete loss of tail rotor thrust.

Whilst this needs to be managed by the crew, it seems unlikely to be "potentially catastrophic".

Worst case being for it to happen approaching the hover over a helideck! (sound familiar?)

My thoughts are with those affected by this tragedy.

Weather reports are difficult to come by, but Shannon reports 24 hours. It is not on the coast and some distance away, but does offer some indication of the kind of weather that might have been experienced:

METAR EINN 140430Z 25014KT 6000 -DZ SCT005 BKN007 11/11 Q1029
TEMPO 3000 BKN005=

NVD
 

Does anyone know if they operate with NVD?

Sad news

Coast Guard member rescued from helicopter crash dies

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam


JAS

Thoughts are with all the crews/families at this tough time. Sad sad day in Ireland

Sad loss
 

SAR crews are a widespread but still a family community and the tragic loss of this crew will be felt by all. I was lucky in seeing out my 25 years on SAR with only minor incidents to look back on but I will never forget the comeraderie nor the friends who were taken from us. Sincere condolences to the families of those dedicated aircrew lost doing a vital job they all enjoyed.
I hope the investigation has an early result as it must be very worrying to those still flying in the role but in the S92 in particular and should stop any further unhelpful conjecture.

Crewmember who was pulled out of sea has now passed away. Also named in the press. RIP

RIP DF. I remember her on the tv with the Waterford base on the 61s!

Very, very sad news.
I remember Dara arriving in Aberdeen some 20 years ago to accumulate S61 time flying offshore, before returning to SAR in Ireland.
A lovely, friendly and obviously very capable lady to achieve the position and status she had reached.
Thoughts are with her family, the other crew members still missing and their respective families.
God Bless.

Very sad news, the Coast Guard lost a volunteer member last September too. Thoughts with the families and colleagues of the crew.

Dara flew as my copilot at Shannon 20 years ago. A lovely lass and very capable. A sad loss for all.

G.

RIP Dara. A real lady and a true professional.

Sad news indeed.

Very sad news. RIP, and thoughts with those who remain.

Can't give you a matrix, but top cover is always nice to have when well out to sea for the reasons given. I think I'm right in saying that the RN used to send a chase aircraft routinely when the 1sts aircraft was heading out to sea. RAF SAR tended to use the Nimrod for long range jobs because it could get there quickly, pinpoint the vessel's location, drop stores a/r and stay on scene for ever. The risk in SAR is normally with the aircraft doing the winching (specifically, the winchman) so the top cover aircraft isn't generally exposed to any unusual risk.

Top-cover for deep-water ICG ops is normally provided by an Air Corps CASA, for example: IAC CASA top-cover

I don't know why that wasn't the case last night unless it wasn't just top-cover but also SAR assistance. Edit: apparently this is a touchy subject, fixed-wing top-cover is less frequent than desired. When one heli accordingly has to support another it is technically Mutual Assistance in CHC / ICG lingo.

What particularly puzzles me is why the Dublin heli 116 was dispatched across the entire width of Ireland, thereby needing to refuel before proceeding on station, instead of the Sligo unit 118 which could have been on station far faster and then be back-filled by Dublin.