Witnesses to a fatal plane crash in Co Wexford in 2019 have described at an inquest seeing debris falling from the light aircraft as it spiralled towards the ground before impacting in a field.
The crash, which took place on the evening of Sunday 6 October 2019, claimed the lives of pilot John Finnan, 52, from Naas in Co Kildare and flying instructor Peter Tawse, 61, of New Ross, Co Wexford.
They had taken off on a two-seater Rollason Condor light aircraft from Taghmon Airfield that afternoon, before crashing in the Gibletstown area of Duncormick in south Wexford at about 5.40pm.
An inquest at the Wexford Coroner's Court in Gorey heard that the two men were on a training flight at the time and had indicated that they would be carrying out some spinning manoeuvres, which were permitted under Irish Aviation Authority rules.
Both had many hours of flying experience and the flight was being undertaken as part of Mr Finnan’s biennial licence revalidation.
An Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) report found that the aircraft was in good condition prior to the crash and that there was no evidence of age-related deterioration.
The primary failure of the plane appeared to have been a fracture of the main spar in the left wing which resulted in the separation of the outboard section of the left wing.
"There were known risks of over-stressing the aircraft when conducting spinning manoeuvres," the investigation found.
It concluded that the in-flight break-up of the plane "probably commenced" when the left wing spar "failed in positive g [gravity force] loading," with components of that wing then striking other sections of the aircraft, causing the rudder to separate and bend backwards and downwards leading to the further disintegration of the aircraft.
"Once the left wing had failed the aircraft was no longer controllable and it descended with rapid rotation," the AAIU report, as given in evidence by AAIU investigator Paul Farrell, concluded.
The in-flight break-up and rapid rotation of the aircraft led to the disintegration of the cockpit area and the harness attachment points, leading both occupants unrestrained. "The accident was not survivable."
Garda Seán O’Neill told the inquest that he was on duty on the evening of 6 October 2019, when he and a colleague got an urgent call at 5.44pm about report of an airplane crash.
They went to the site, at Gibletstown in Duncormick and found debris across a number of fields.
He saw the aircraft in a ditch, with only one wing, and found the body of a male in one field and subsequently found the body of a second male.
There was no sign of life in either of the men.
Witness Carmel Doran-Ennis said at about 5.40pm she was in the office attached to her home when she heard a loud, airplane noise.
She looked out the window and could see a plane descending towards the ground.
"The plane was just coming apart," she said in her deposition, adding that she could see debris falling from the sky.
She then heard a bang, "the noise was incredible" and she knew something was wrong.
She got into her car and headed towards the crash scene, dialling 999.
She is a first responder, she said, but when she got to the scene she was told there was no requirement for her as both men in the plane were deceased.
Mark Morrissey said he was at home when he was told there had been a crash.
He went to the scene and saw a plane in a ditch and a part of the plane in one of the fields nearby.
He saw a male, who he later found was named Peter, lying on the ground and unconscious.
He brought a garda to the male’s location and when he got closer he realised the man was dead.
Another witness, Murt Doran, said he saw a plane in the sky doing wide circular manoeuvres for about 30 minutes.
He then heard "a sharp crack or bang" and saw pieces of debris starting to fall off the plane. It looked like the debris came from the passenger’s side.
Small pieces continued to fall from the plane and it started to twist and fall towards the ground.
He started to panic because he knew the plane was going to crash.
"I could see it had gone into a nosedive and it had lost so much of the plane to be able to come out of that manoeuvre," he said.
Michael Doran told the inquest that he had been milking cows and was then walking through the fields when he saw a plane doing what seemed to be loops and rings in the sky.
It circled over him four or five times, he said. He then heard a noise coming from the plane, which sounded like a petrol lawnmower backfiring.
He looked up and could see black from the plane and it appeared to be falling from the sky, swirling.
He drove to the crash location and found a wing from the plane in a ditch and also saw the cockpit, which had nobody in it.
He saw two bodies in a ditch and a field and there was no sign of life in either.
Rachel Moore said she was visiting her friend when she heard a plane and looked up and could see it flying low and tilting left to right.
She then heard a bang and looked up and saw a wing fall from the plane and other bits falling.
Just after this, "it started to spin and fall, with bits falling to the ground," she said in her deposition to the inquest.
Pathologist Dr Rob Landers gave evidence of post-mortem examinations conducted by a pathologist colleague, who was not present, which found that both men died as a result of multiple severe traumatic injuries, sustained in a light aircraft accident.
Death would have been instantaneous, coroner Dr Seán Nixon said and Dr Landers agreed.
The coroner, Dr Nixon, returned a verdict of accidental death and said there was no evidence that anyone was responsible for the crash or that there was any major fault within the aircraft beforehand.
There were no contributory factors and no safety recommendations following the AAIU investigation.
