Tragic news.

RIP the crew of Rescue 116.

LE Eithne just entering search area.

A tough few days for the Irish rotor community. RIP, brave crew members of R116.

500 Fan.

RIP
the crew of that flight, thoughts are with family and friends

Very sad news - RIP.

I am sure I met Dara on a liaison visit to Waterford from Chivenor a few years ago - a great loss to the SAR community.

Bu&&er. :(

Sad day for all.
I get sadder for any new crash that involves guys and gals putting their lives on the line for others.
Be the accident human error or catastrophic failure it saddens me.
May their memory live long in our hearts.

RIP for the whole crew.
Sincere condolences to all related and local SAR community
Hope we can find out, what went so wrong so quickly...

RIP Dara,
Lovely Lady and true professional. We will miss you.

118 was already gone out to the incident. 116 was then sent to support.

A friend of mine has told me that, during an interview on Irish TV, it was stated that none of 18 beacons (4 on crew) emitted any signal on entering the water.

My heart goes out to all of the families, colleagues and friends.
You are all in my thoughts..

Imagine how many people are alive today because of the actions of these 4 crew over the years.

RIP

A very sad day in Irish aviation. RIP Dara and deepest sympathies to her family. Holding onto hope for the others. Many people are alive today thanks to them. Flying is never just a job.

Irish Times:
'There had been no satellite alerts, no signals, no mayday. Last communication from Rescue 116, at 12.45am, was brief and to the point. It was, “landing in Blacksod”.'

Link
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/coast-guard-crash-it-was-poor-visibility-as-there-was-constant-rain-1.3010740

Met Dara in Stavanger a few years ago at the 61 sim, impressed me as a very knowledgeable and professional pilot........RIP and my condolences to her family.

My deepest condolences to all the families.

I have fond memories of a visit with the Shannon gang in January 1996.

Jerry O'Leary Cutler
ex Okie 61 guy

beyond sadness and lost for words. RIP

Thank you - the initial reports were that 115 from Shannon had conducted the lift from the ship.

So the question still stands, why remove east-coast SAR cover instead of using Shannon for top-cover? I'm not criticising, I'm just perplexed. There is a spare 92 at Shannon, too, though presumably would need crew. If there had been a north-coast incident the same night then the closest SAR cover would have been Waterford... ( CHC / ICG also cover NI waters under an extension to the contract ).

Perhaps it's time the ICG revisited its proposal for organic fixed-wing top-cover, they were looking at Cessna 406s a few years ago but didn't have the funding in place.

Hey EB, I haven't seen any news reports indicating that 115 was involved in the initial shout.

Regarding your question it would be fair to assume that they knew what they were doing in terms of what assets to mobilize for the particular situation that arose that night.

I would also assume that 115 at Shannon was still available to cover the west coast and 117 at Waterford was still available to cover the east coast while 118 and 116 were engaged in the operation.

RIP to the brave souls who were lost and Condolences to everybody involved, a terrible tragedy.