An airport security and safety auditor has said it could take up to a year to establish what caused a plane to crash just outside Tramore in Co Waterford.
An investigation into the fatal plane crash yesterday afternoon is continuing in Co Waterford.
The pilot, who was the only person in the small plane, was killed when it crashed near Tramore at around 12.50pm.
His body was removed last night to University Hospital Waterford.
The scene remains preserved and the Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) will be at the scene later.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, retired Air Corps General Kevin Byrne said that he had "every faith" that the Air Accident Investigation Unit would be able to establish what led to the crash.
"They will look at the impact damage. They have drones now available, and they've got other methods of recording the field debris, in other words, what happened with the aircraft," he said.
"The problem with the investigation in this case is the aircraft is too small to have a requirement for a cockpit voice recorder, so I don't think that'll be a factor, nor will there be a flight data recorder. It'll be very unusual to have it on an aircraft that size.
"I have every faith that they will come up with some kind of a report within 30 days, and the final report then takes probably about a year, within which they'll have a final report on this.
"It'll be hard work, but they're extremely good and experienced people, and I think they will get to the analysis in the final result," he added.
The AAIU said it was deploying four inspectors to the site near Lisselan, outside Tramore.
In a statement, it said it had completed its initial examination by 9pm last night and had exited the site.
It said it would return to remove the wreckage to their wreckage examination facility at Gormanston, Co Meath.
'Fairly infrequent'
Mr Byrne said that these kinds of crashes were "fairly infrequent" in Ireland.
However, he referenced an incident in 2021, where an aircraft of the same make as the one that crashed yesterday made an emergency landing at Carnsore Point, Co Wexford.
Mr Byrne added that he did not feel that the weather conditions had anything to do with the crash.
"The weather conditions are not a factor here, because it was a fantastic day yesterday," he said.
"The ceiling and the visibility were unlimited. There were no clouds in the sky, there were no winds, which is quite rare for Ireland. The conditions were perfect for flying at any altitude, really, on any distance.
"I don't know what elements were involved in that, but it wasn't weather as a factor."
Emergency service units, including Coast Guard Rescue 117, attended the scene yesterday, which happened on approach to Waterford Airport.
The R685 was partially closed and motorists were advised to use alternative routes.
Online flight-tracking websites show the privately-owned Vulcanair P68C was flying between Sligo and Beziers, in France, when it turned around off the south coast of Ireland and headed back towards Waterford Airport before the crash.
