Country
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Leinster

Crash of a Partenavia P.68 Victor in Carnsore Point

Date & Time: Sep 23, 2021 at 1705 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
F-HIRD
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Waterford - Waterford
MSN:
14
YOM:
1975
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
3
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The twin engine aircraft departed Waterford Airport for a local survey flight. While flying at low altitude, the pilot reported technical difficulties and attempted an emergency landing when the aircraft crashed on a beach located in Carnsore Point and came to rest partially submerged in water. All four occupants were taken to hospital and the aircraft was destroyed.

Crash of a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan in Clonbullogue: 2 killed

Date & Time: May 13, 2018 at 1438 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
G-KNYS
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Clonbullogue - Clonbullogue
MSN:
208B-1146
YOM:
2005
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Captain / Total flying hours:
2157
Aircraft flight hours:
4670
Aircraft flight cycles:
6379
Circumstances:
The Cessna 208B aircraft took off from Runway 27 at Clonbullogue Airfield (EICL), Co. Offaly at approximately 13.14 hrs. On board were the Pilot and a Passenger (a child), who were seated in the cockpit, and 16 skydivers, who occupied the main cabin. The skydivers jumped from the aircraft, as planned, when the aircraft was overhead EICL at an altitude of approximately 13,000 feet. When the aircraft was returning to the airfield, the Pilot advised by radio that he was on ‘left base’ (the flight leg which precedes the approach leg and which is normally approximately perpendicular to the extended centreline of the runway). No further radio transmissions were received. A short while later, it was established that the aircraft had impacted nose-down into a forested peat bog at Ballaghassan, Co. Offaly, approximately 2.5 nautical miles (4.6 kilometres) to the north-west of EICL. The aircraft was destroyed. There was no fire. The Pilot and Passenger were fatally injured.
Probable cause:
Impact with terrain following a loss of control in a steeply banked left-hand turn. The following contributing factors were reported:
- The steeply banked nature of the turn being performed,
- Propeller torque reaction following a rapid and large increase in engine torque,
- The aircraft’s speed while manoeuvring during the steeply banked turn,
- Insufficient height above ground to effect a successful recovery.
Final Report:

Crash of a BAe 125-600B at Baldonnel AFB

Date & Time: Nov 27, 1979
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
236
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Baldonnel - Baldonnel
MSN:
25256
YOM:
1971
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew was supposed to fly to UK for scheduled maintenance. During the takeoff roll at Baldonnel-Casement Airbase, the airplane collided with a flock of birds. The takeoff procedure was abandoned and the pilot initiated an emergency braking procedure. Unable to stop within the remaining distance, the airplane overran and came to rest. All three crew members escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
Probable cause:
Bird strike on takeoff.

Crash of a Vickers 803 Viscount off Wexford: 61 killed

Date & Time: Mar 24, 1968 at 1058 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
EI-AOM
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Cork - London-Heathrow
MSN:
178
YOM:
1957
Flight number:
EI712
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
57
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
61
Captain / Total flying hours:
6683
Captain / Total hours on type:
1679.00
Copilot / Total flying hours:
1139
Copilot / Total hours on type:
900
Aircraft flight hours:
18806
Aircraft flight cycles:
16923
Circumstances:
Viscount aeroplane type 803, registration: EI-AOM departed from Cork Airport at 10.32 hours en route for London operating as Aer Lingus Flight 712. The take-off was normal. The flight was cleared by Air Traffic Control to proceed via Airways Blue 10, Green 1 at flight level 170 (17,000'). At 10.38, when the aeroplane had passed through 7,000', clearance on course to Tuskar was given. At 10.40, after the flight had reported it was by Youghal at 7,500' climbing to 17,000', ATC Cork suggested that if desired, the flight could route direct to Strumble. No direct acceptance of this suggestion was received. At 10.57.07 the flight reported "by Bannow (a reporting point on the route at 51º 68' N - 06º 12' W) level 170 (17,000') estimating Strumble at 03". The flight was instructed to change to the London Airways frequency of 131.2, and this was acknowledged by the reply "131.2". The time of this call was 10.57.29. At 10.58.02, London Radar intercepted a call (garbled and simultaneous with another call) which appeared to be, and was later confirmed as "Echo India Alpha Oscar Mike with you", and eight (8) seconds later, a call was intercepted which was interpreted as "Five thousand feet descending spinning rapidly". This call was also heard by another Aer Lingus aircraft en route Dublin-Bristol (The word "Five" was later, after repeated acoustic analysis, interpreted as more likely to be the word "twelve".) This was the last call received from the aircraft. At 11.10, London ATC advised Shannon ATC that they had no radio contact with EI-AOM. At 11.13 London advised Shannon that they had requested Aer Lingus Flight EI 362 (Dublin-Bristol) to search west of Strumble. This flight descended to 500' in good visibility, but saw nothing. Between 11.13 and 11.25, efforts were made to make radio contact with the flight, with no result, and at 11.25 a full alert was declared. At 12.36 a report from the U.K. was received by Haulbowline that wreckage had been sighted in position 51º 57' N, 06º 10' W Rosslare Lifeboat was proceeding, but two surface vessels within 4 nautical miles of this position saw nothing. At 12.52 hours the Air Corps reported that they had dispatched a Dove aeroplane and a helicopter to search. At 13.10 hours there were ten aircraft from the U.K. in the search area. At 15.30 hours the reported sighting of wreckage was cancelled. Nothing positive was discovered on this day. On 25 March 1968, at 06.15 hours, the search was resumed by aircraft and ships from the U.K., and at 12.41 hours, wreckage was sighted and bodies recovered from a position 6 nautical miles north-east of Tuskar Rock. More floating wreckage was reported scattered for a further 6 nautical miles north-west of this point. The Irish Naval Service ship, L.E. Macha, which had been on patrol off the north-west coast, joined in the search on 26 March 1968, and took over duty as Search Controller. A total of 13 bodies was eventually recovered in the search during the next few days, together with a quantity of light floating wreckage-mostly cabin furnishings, and some baggage, seat cushions, and the wheels and inner cylinder from the port main landing gear. One additional body was recovered later. The position of the main wreckage remained obscure in spite of prolonged and diligent search by sonar equipped ships of the British Navy and trawling by Irish trawlers-"Glendalough" from Kilmore Quay and "Cu na Mara" of the Irish Fisheries Board (An Bord Iascaigh Mhara). Eventually, on 5 June 1968 "Glendalough" hauled in position 1.72 nautical miles from Tuskar Rock with Tuskar bearing 280º, in 39 fathoms and brought up a quantity of positively identifiable wreckage. The "Cu na Mara" in the same location also brought up wreckage. On the following day more wreckage was brought up by these trawlers, and divers from H.M.S. Reclaim confirmed a mass of wreckage "like a scrap yard" in this position. Subsequent salvage operations confirmed that a major portion of the aircraft at least was located here. Two eyewitnesses, one a sailor on a coastal vessel, who thought he had seen an aircraft crash into the sea but did not report it at the time, and another witness on shore, who saw a splash in the sea near the Tuskar Rock, gave the time as between 11.10 and 11.15. The position lines of these two witnesses approximately cross the location where the main wreckage was eventually found. The aircraft was totally demolished by violent impact with the sea. The bulk of the wreckage was found in 39 fathoms of water with all parts lying in close proximity. About 60-65% of the aircraft (by weight) was recovered, and included the major parts of three engines, a few parts of the fourth, and all four propellers, the almost complete primary structure of the wings from tip to tip, and the fin and rudder. None of the wreckage displayed any evidence of fire or explosion. No part of the tail planes or elevators were recovered, with the exception of small portions of the spring tab and trim tab. The recovered wreckage revealed extensive damage to the whole structure, which virtually disintegrated.
Probable cause:
There is not enough evidence available on which to reach a conclusion of reasonable probability as to the initial cause of this accident. The probable cause of the final impact with the sea was impairment of the controllability of the aircraft in the fore and aft (pitching) plane. Speculation continued since the time of the accident, prompted by a hypothesis posed in the report, that the Viscount may have been initially upset by the possible presence of another airborne object, drone or missile in its vicinity at the time. On the 30th anniversary of the accident, following newspaper articles and television programmes focusing on the possible involvement of U.K ships and missile ranges on the Welsh Coast in the downing of the aircraft, it was decided that Irish and U.K. officials would review all files held relating to the accident to see if the cause of the accident could be established. It was a.o. concluded that "the possibility of a cause other than a (near) collision with another airborne object being the initial cause of the upset ... does not appear to have been adequately examined in the 1970 Report." Following the review, in July 2000, the Irish Minister for Public Enterprise commissioned an independent study of the accident circumstances. The International Study Team published their findings in December 2001:
- An initial event, which cannot be clearly identified, disturbed the air flow around the horizontal tail surfaces and the pitch control of the aircraft. In the light of what was observed by non-skilled people there was a strong indication that structural fatigue, flutter, corrosion or bird strike could have been involved,
- It is possible that the sensitivity of the engine fuel control units to negative accelerations imposed during the initial upset, had an adverse effect on the subsequent flight path of the aircraft,
- The severe manoeuvres of the aircraft following the initial upset and the subsequent flight would have been outside the airworthiness certification envelope and may have resulted in some deformation of the structure,
- A number of possible causes for an impairment of pitch control were examined and it is considered very possible that excessive spring tab free play resulted in the fatigue failure of a component in the tab operating mechanism thus inducing a tailplane-elevator tab free flutter condition,
- The loads induced by the flutter condition would be of sufficient magnitude and frequency to cause a fatigue failure of the port tailplane within the timescale estimated for EI-AOM,
- There was no involvement of any other aircraft or missile.
Final Report:

Crash of a Vickers 803 Viscount in Ashbourne: 3 killed

Date & Time: Jun 22, 1967 at 0835 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
EI-AOF
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Dublin - Dublin
MSN:
176
YOM:
1957
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Aircraft flight hours:
17447
Circumstances:
The Viscount had departed Dublin at 06:44 GMT for a pilot conversion training flight on an IFR flight plan. The instructor planned to spend 2 hours in a sector NW of Dublin, followed by practicing circuits and landings for one hour. Eyewitnesses reported seeing the aircraft entering a vertical dive from low altitude. The plane crashed and caught fire. All three crew members were killed.
Source: ASN
Probable cause:
An unintentional stall and incipient spin at a low altitude from which recovery was not possible. There is not enough evidence to determine the circumstances leading to the stall and incipient spin but the behaviour of the aircraft in the final stages was such as to indicate that it was not under control of the flight instructor.

Crash of a Bristol 170 Freighter 31E in Dublin: 2 killed

Date & Time: Jun 12, 1967 at 1758 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
EI-APM
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Glasgow - Dublin
MSN:
13076
YOM:
1951
Flight number:
QT612
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
Upon landing on runway 17 at Dublin Airport, the airplane seemed to be uncontrollable and bounced 3-4 times. The captain decided to abandon the landing, attempted a go around and increased engine power. After takeoff, while climbing to a height of approximately 50 feet, the airplane turned to the left when it stalled and crashed onto a hangar. The aircraft was destroyed and both crew members were killed. There were no injuries on the ground.
Probable cause:
The reason why the aircraft bounced on landing could not be determined with certainty. However, it was understood that the left engine partially lost power or failed during initial climb for unknown reason. This caused the aircraft to stall and to crash as the failure occurred at a critical stage of flight (low speed and low altitude).

Crash of a Douglas DC-4-1009 in Dublin

Date & Time: Sep 19, 1961 at 2104 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
G-ARJY
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Tarbes – Dublin
MSN:
10288
YOM:
1944
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
69
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Captain / Total flying hours:
6049
Captain / Total hours on type:
402.00
Copilot / Total flying hours:
14000
Copilot / Total hours on type:
4200
Aircraft flight hours:
31458
Circumstances:
G-ARJY was flying a chartered non- scheduled trip from Speke Airport, Liverpool to Tarbes Airport, Lourdes where passengers were to embark for Dublin, Ireland, Following a normal flight to Lourdes the aircraft was refuelled. The amount taken on appeared to be sufficient for the flight to Dublin. The aircraft was carrying 4 crew and 69 passengers. Take- off for Dublin was at 1710 hours, and the flight to Dublin Approach was uneventful. At 2035 the aircraft reported to Dublin Air Traffic Control and was informed of the local weather and of the runway in use. Subsequently, at 2058, it was cleared to land on runway 24, and the captain stated that he intended to make a visual approach. Shortly thereafter, at 2104 the flight reported having difficulty and that it was losing power. The captain abandoned the approach, swung the aircraft abruptly to the left and made a successful emergency wheels-up landing away from the airport. There was no fire. Although some occupants were slightly injured and shocked, there were no fatalities or serious injuries.
Probable cause:
The accident was attributed to incorrect management of the fuel system by the flight crew which resulted in partial Loss of power and control and a forced landing outside the airport.
Final Report:

Crash of a Junkers JU.52/3m2e in Roundwood

Date & Time: Aug 12, 1946 at 1330 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
B-46
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Schedule:
Paris – Dublin
MSN:
1429
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
23
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew left Paris-Le Bourget at 0900LT in good weather conditions, bound for Dublin with 21 French girls and two attendants taking part to a camp in Ireland. While approaching Dublin from the south, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with low clouds and reduced visibility. The captain elected to gain height and pull up when the three engine aircraft hit the slope of a hill and crash landed. All 27 occupants were quickly rescued and unhurt while the aircraft was written off.