Helicopter struck mountain after pilot took call

Caroline O'Doherty

David Reid, 40, died on impact when the helicopter he was flying struck a mountain and was engulfed in flames near Lispole, Co Kerry, in the early evening of August 28 last year.

Weather conditions at the time were described as desperate with thick fog, rain, and drizzle. Local people who were first on the scene heard the aircraft flying unusually low near their homes before hearing a loud bang, without ever seeing it.