Bodies of Air Corps Pilots recovered from crash site

The bodies of the two Air Corps pilots killed in yesterday's crash in Connemara on the Galway / Mayo border have been removed from the crash site and taken to Galway University Hospital for post mortem examination. The two men have been named as Capt. Derek Furniss aged 32 from Dublin and Cadet David Jevens aged 22 from Co. Wexford. Capt. Furniss joined the Defence Forces in 1994 and had been a pilot instructor since 1999. He had accumulated over 3,000 hours and was the Chief Instructor on the PC-9 aircraft. Cadet Jevens was due for commissioning later this year and had accumulated 160 hours on type. 
The crash site which is in a remote hilly area, 2km from the nearest road was sealed off this morning since the aircraft was fitted with ejector seats which had to be made safe before the investigation could begin. Th flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder have been recovered  from the site. The Air Corps hope to remove the airframe (reported as serial 265) from the crash site tomorrow and transport it by road to the Air Accident Investigation Unit's facility at Gormanstown where the forensic examination will take place.
A team from the Pilatus company in Switzerland arrived in Galway today to assist in the investigation. The team arrived on PC-12 registered HB-FOT operating flight PCH121 which landed at Carnmore at lunchtime today.
The Irish Aviation Authority has implemented a TRA (Temporary Restricted Area) around the crash site, radius six nautical miles, surface to 5,000ft until 19:00 hrs utc on October 16.

Fears for crew as IAC Pilatus PC-9 crashes

Fears were growing tonight for the safety of the two occupants of an Irish Air Corps Pilatus PC-9 aircraft which crashed in hilly terrain on the Galway / Mayo border. The aircraft was one of three aircraft which departed Baldonnel this evening with the intention of landing at Galway's Carnmore airport to refuel before resuming their training flights. Shortly after 17.00 utc an eyewitness called ATC at Shannon to report an aircraft had flown low overhead, followed almost immediately by a loud bang. A crash site was subsequently discovered by emergency services in the Crumlin East area of Co. Galway. The two remaining aircraft from the training mission, serials 261 and 266 recovered to Galway Carnmore airport just after 17.30 utc. Investigation teams from the Air corps and the Air Accident Investigation Unit of the Dept. of Transport are due to visit the site at first light.

C253 marks 70th anniversary

Today marks the 70th anniversary of the first aircraft to land at what is now Shannon Airport. In the months leading up to the Second World War the Irish government tasked the Air Corps to find a suitable site in the western half of the country which would be suitable for monitoring naval movements off the Irish coast. On May 18, 1939  an Avro Anson Mark I of the Air Corps was dispatched from Baldonnel on a reconnaissance mission and  landed on the 1,400 yd long x 400 yd wide grass strip which was still under construction at the airport where work had started in October 1936.

To commemorate the event, Air Corps Casa CN235 serial 253 landed on Shannon's R24 this afternoon at the precise time of the original landing, 13.20 utc.

There is some confusion surrounding the exact time of the 1939 landing. Valerie Sweeney in her book 'Shannon  Airport' quotes the 'Clare Champion' of the day reporting the arrival as taking place at 1.27 pm. 

Pictured above C253 is seen on finals to R24 in light rain.

Air Corps to operate Gulfstream 550 CAEW

The Irish Air Corps have taken delivery of a Gulfstream G550 CAEW. The unannounced development arose as a result of concerns by the United States administration about the capabilities of the Air Corps CASA 235 maritime patrol aircraft to monitor a sufficiently large volume of air space in the lead up to the G20 summit which is taking place in London this week. Shannon airport has been designated an alternate for Air Force 1 should the aircraft be forced to divert for any reason during it's flight to / from the UK and the Irish Air Corps are responsible for security within Irish airspace.

High level talks are understood to have taken place involving the Defence Forces and officials from the Department of Defence who met with their counterparts in Homeland Security and the State Department to assess the ability of the Air Corps aircraft.

As a result of the discussions the US administration took the decision that it would offer the Irish Air Corps the use of a Gulfstream Aerospace CAEW aircraft for a period of 2 weeks. For the past 8 weeks six Air Corps pilots have been training at the Gulfstream Aerospace facility in Savannah Georgia to familiarise themselves with the aircraft's sophisticated radar and signal intelligence capabilities. As part of the loan arrangement the USAF have provided the services of a Liaison pilot, Lt. Rolf Apilo who will partner the Air Corps pilots for the duration of the exercise. The aircraft arrived in Shannon on Monday night at approximately 3.00 am and was immediately hangared with Signature Flight Support who will be handling the aircraft during it's stay in Ireland. Pictured above, the latest Air Corps recruit, serial 280 taxis for takeoff on R24 at Shannon yesterday morning for it's patrol in advance of the transit of Air Force 1 through Irish airspace on it's way to Stansted. In addition to 'Irish Air Corps' titles the aircraft carried 'Maritime' titles under the cockpit window, similar to those on the CASA aircraft For the record the hex code of 280 is 4CA790 Posted 090401

Aer Corps AW139 in emergency landing

An Agusta Aw139 helicopter of the Irish Air Corps made an emergency landing in Killarney this afternoon after the left hand door fell off in flight. The helicopter was carrying Minister for Tourism Martin Cullen, an adviser to the Minister and a crew of three and had just departed from the grounds of the Malton Hotel in Killarney three minutes earlier when the incident happened. The helicopter descended from an altitude of 500ft and landed in the grounds of the Killarney Golf and Fishing Club. 

The helicopter had routed from Waterford to Killarney this morning and was returning to Dublin.

The aircraft will be kept on the ground until a Military Airworthiness Inspection Team and Air Corps technicians make an examination. 

Taoiseach rejects Green Party proposal

The Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Brian Cowen has rejected calls by the Green Party that the Ministerial Air Transport Service (MATS) aircraft be got rid of in the interests of green house emissions and cost. The Greens are a coalition partner in the Irish Government with two Ministerial positions being held by the party. The Minister for the Environment, John Gormley and Energy Minister Eamon Ryan both refuse to avail of official air transport, insisting on using Ryanair instead.

When asked about getting rid of the MATS aircraft, Taoiseach Brian Cowen said that in the "context of a Government doing it's business in the modern age there is need for such facilities".

IRL 251 diverts to Shannon

Irish Air Corps Gulfstream 4, serial 251 diverted into Shannon late last night. The aircraft encountered a technical problem which resulted in the uncommanded application of the brakes whilst in flight. The crew decided to divert to Shannon but before landing they positioned the aircraft to the DERAG hold where the fault was rectified. On completion of the fix the crew elected to make a precautionary landing at Shannon with a compliment of nine including a Government minister. The aircraft departed Shannon shortly after noon today.

The Grubby Government Gulfstream

A report in today's Irish Independent reveals that the Government Gulfstream IV is to undergo a major interior refit because funding for a replacement aircraft is not forthcoming. The 17 year old aircraft reportedly has 11,250 flying hours on the frame and is averaging 660 hours per annum whereas aircraft of this age and type average just 370 hours worldwide. Documents seen by the newspaper suggest that the aircraft has undergone unrelenting wear and tear with an interior that debunks the myth of luxurious ministerial travel.

In it's lifetime, IRL 251 has undergone just one full repaint and cosmetic repairs against a norm of interior replacement every five to seven years. Subsequent concerns were raised that the aircraft might not pass certification until the interior was tackled and Gulfstream Aerospace expressed concerns that an interior of this age might not be suitable for refit once removed from the aircraft.

The anticipated maintenance bill for the aircraft over the period 2008/9 comes to €5m. Prior to starting the process of refurbishing the interior, Airbus and Dassault had made offers to the Government on fractional ownership and replacement but the Government's contracts department had advised against accepting either since a tendering process is required. 

Pictured above is IRL251 on approach to Dublin's Runway 28.

CityJet host aviator reunion at Casement

Yesterday, CityJet hosted an event at Casement Aerodrome Baldonnel which saw the reunion of almost 100 aviators who were involved in the making of such screen classics as Blue Max (1966)and Darling Lily (1970) which were made on location in Ireland. CityJet Chairman Geoffrey O'Byrne White is a former Air Corps pilot who maintains strong links with his former 'employer'. In March 2006 he was instrumental in organising the return visit by Spitfire 161 to Baldonnel. Five aircraft, including replicas were present for the event yesterday - three Tiger Moths, a Stampe SV4 and the Air Corps Avro 631 Cadet serial C7. One of the aircraft which arrived from Wexford was piloted by Geoffrey O'Byrne White and ex Air Corps pilot JJ Sullivan. Pilots from the Air Corps helped recreate the dog fight scenes in Blue Max, assisted by civilian pilots, including Derek Piggott who at 88 years still flies occasionally and came from his home in the UK for the occasion. Derek was the only pilot willing to fly the stunt at the climax of the film which saw two rivals challenge each other to fly under the spans of a bridge. Playing both roles and using different camera angles to achieve the desired effect, Derek flew 15 times under the wide span and 17 times under the narrow span of the bridge over the River Blackwater in Fermoy, Co. Cork. The wing tips of the Fokker Triplane replica had 1.2m of clearance on each side when passing under the narrow span. The stars of Blue Max were George Peppard, James Mason and Ursula Andress. Also among those present yesterday were Ken Byrne, an Air Corps pilot from the sixties who piloted Ursula Andress in the film and Tony Rowe, an aircraft engineer who was responsible for keeping the aircraft in the air. Tony said that over the years, 1000 men claim to have helped fit Ursula Andress' parachute belt but he is the only one who can truthfully make the claim !