SYNOPSIS

On 12 July 2007, the helicopter was undertaking a routine safety inspection of gas pipelines under contract to the National gas supplier.  A crew of two were on board, a Pilot and an Observer.  The inspection route took the helicopter south of Ennis and along the Shannon estuary towards Foynes.  In the vicinity of Lisheen, a descent was made to facilitate closer inspection of works on the surface. A 360-degree inspection turn was carried out to the left before following the pipeline onwards.  Shortly after the completion of the inspection turn, the engine stopped suddenly and without warning.  The Pilot lowered the collective and attempted to enter autorotation from a low level and over difficult and undulating terrain. 

The helicopter impacted into farmland to the west of Ballynacally in rising terrain.  The Observer was pronounced dead at the scene.  The Pilot suffered serious impact injuries and was airlifted by Coast Guard helicopter to hospital in Galway. 

The Investigation determined that the engine stoppage was as a result of the 41-tooth Bevel Gear disintegrating due to fatigue. The 41-tooth Bevel Gear is a component of the engine accessory gearbox, and resulted in a loss of drive to the Fuel Control Unit (FCU) stopping the engine within seconds.

History of the Flight

The aircraft was routing from Heathrow to Chicago on a scheduled flight. At approx 12.13 hrs, some 140 nm west of Galway, the cabin crew reported a small fire in the bottom of the waste bin storage compartment of the bar unit in the Upper (First) Class area. The fire was located in a hole in the floor of the compartment. The crew noted that a damaged electric cable loom appeared to emanate from this hole. Arcing was observed in the hole.

The cockpit crew turned off the Galley and Commercial power circuits, but the fire and arcing persisted. The Captain declared an emergency and diverted to Shannon, where the aircraft landed safety some 30 minutes later. During the diversion, the cabin crew used five 1 kg BCF extinguishers. These subdued the flames but the arcing persisted. After each application, the fire restarted after approximately five minutes. The observed flames were not large and were described as “licks of flame”. After landing, the Airport Fire Service tackled the fire with a 5 kg BCF extinguisher, but a glow continued to be observed at the bottom of the hole. The Fire Crew Watch Leader discussed the situation with the crew and a decision was made to de-power the aircraft. When this was done the glow disappeared and no further arcing was observed.

  SYNOPSIS

An airmiss occurred at Dublin Airport when a helicopter crossed the active runway in front of an aircraft that was taking off.  On becoming airborne the Pilot of the Learjet aircraft was forced to take immediate evasive action to avoid a collision.  There was little vertical or horizontal separation between the two aircraft at the time of the occurrence.  There was no damage to either aircraft. 

The Pilot of the helicopter had been given a conditional clearance to cross the runway after the Learjet had taken off.  He crossed instead ahead of it and did not see the small Learjet, whose colour was dark grey, until the airmiss.  ATC procedures at EIDW have since been changed with conditional clearances to cross active runways no longer being issued to helicopters.

SYNOPSIS

The aircraft was returning on a short flight from Inis Meáin (EIMN), one of the Aran Islands in Galway Bay, to Connemara Airport (EICA), in marginal weather conditions when the accident occurred.  There had been a significant wind shift, since the time the aircraft had departed earlier from EICA that morning, of which the Pilot appeared to be unaware.  As a result a landing was attempted downwind.  At a late stage, a go-around was initiated, at a very low speed and high power setting.  The aircraft turned to the left, did not gain altitude and maintained a horizontal trajectory.  It hit a mound, left wing first and cartwheeled.  The Pilot and one of the passengers were fatally injured.  The remaining seven passengers were seriously injured.  The aircraft was destroyed but there was no fire. 

SYNOPSIS

The aircraft was departing Coonagh Airfield on a local flight with two occupants, the Pilot and a passenger.  The surface wind was estimated at 200 degrees at 10-14 kts, resulting in a crosswind condition.  As the aircraft approached take-off speed it swung to the left and departed the paved surface of the runway. The Pilot applied full right rudder to correct but, as the aircraft came back on the paved surface, the left main landing gear detached, damaging the tailplane as it travelled rearwards.  The Pilot abandoned the take-off, the aircraft decelerated rapidly and came to rest in the grass on the left side of the runway.  There were no injuries.

SYNOPSIS

The Pilot had intended a short circuit detail at a private airstrip near Navan, County Meath.  There were two occupants in the aircraft, the Pilot and a passenger.  Although there was some difficulty starting the engine, the power checks revealed no defects during the engine run-up.  Take-off was made on the westerly Runway (RWY) 27, with a slight crosswind from the right.  The aircraft accelerated normally and initial climb rate was good.  The engine stopped while passing through 100 feet above ground level (AGL) during the initial climb.  A forced landing was carried out into an adjacent field where the aircraft sustained substantial damage.  The Pilot suffered minor injuries.  There was no fire.

SYNOPSIS

The aircraft had descended for a landing on the westerly runway at Clonbullogue Airfield after a routine parachute-drop flight.  On short finals, with a southerly wind, the aircraft sank below the normal visual profile; the Pilot applied power to attempt recovery, but was unable to prevent contact with the boundary hedge before landing.  The aircraft was substantially damaged by contact with a wooden fence post, which was embedded in the hedge.  The Pilot, the sole occupant at the time, was unhurt.  There was no fire.

SYNOPSIS

The Instructor and pupil were conducting training circuits from Runway (RWY) 25 at Weston Airport when EI-SKL experienced a partial engine failure after take-off.   The Instructor called an emergency, and turned back to land on the reciprocal runway.  He successfully landed the aircraft on the grass to the left of that runway.   EI-SKL rolled to a nearby taxiway and shut down.  The aircraft sustained no damage and the pilots exited the aircraft in the normal way.   Later, on engine examination, it was found that an induction pipe had worked itself loose.

SYNOPSIS

The Pilot had recently purchased the microlight, which had been delivered the day previous to the accident.  He assembled it and decided to take it for a first flight.  During the landing he lost control and impacted heavily.  The microlight was destroyed but there was no fire.  The Pilot suffered minor injuries.