The commanding officer of the Air Corps has rejected calls for his resignation, following the publication of the report into the crash of an Aer Corps helicopter in Tramore last year. The father of one of the air crew killed when their Dauphin helicopter crashed 14 months ago has called for the resignation of the chief of the Air Corps, following today's publication of the report into the incident. All four crew members were killed when the Dauphin came down while attempting to land at Waterford airport. The report says the crew had not been adequately trained to make full use of the aircraft's capabilities. It also says lighting at the airfield was a known problem.
The report into the crash of Dauphin 248, Rescue Mission Three, is 103 pages long and has 89 findings, lists 16 causes and makes 25 safety recommendations. At the time of the decision to launch the rescue mission, the crew had been on duty for 14 and a half hours, or 16 and a half hours when the accident happened. A flight plan for the mission was not filed, and there was no licensed air traffic control operator on duty at Waterford Airport during the mission.
The Dauphin tried three times to land at the airport, but the report states the airfield lighting at the airport had a known problem. Another finding is that there was an absence of regular training for the crew to carry out a particular approach, which deprived them the use of the full capabilities of their Dauphin aircraft when attempting to land at Waterford airport.
The report points out that there was a low level of Dauphin flying hours due primarily to the poor availability of spare parts and the non-availability of key technical personnel. It added that there was no and still is not a formal flight safety office in the Air Corps.
Tony Baker, father of Captain and pilot Michael Baker who died that night, said that the head of the Air Corps, Brigadier General Patrick Cranfield, should consider his position. A Defence Forces spokesperson said that they have no comment to make at present.
