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.

An Air Accident Investigation Unit report into the accident published yesterday found that Mr Reid, from Blackhorse Avenue in Dublin, overstepped the conditions of his licence by flying in conditions where he could not see the ground, and would have had to rely solely on instruments.

They concluded he had difficulty gauging his altitude and his exact geographical position, and seemed to think he was rounding a headland, when in fact, he was entering an inlet. He crashed at a height of just 950 feet above sea level.

But the investigators also noted that Reid took a call on his mobile phone from a passenger awaiting his arrival on the ground, about 15 minutes before the crash, which they believe may have distracted him at a time when he was already struggling to stay on course.

Reid had been flying for 15 years, but only on small lightweight aircraft, and his family told the investigation he longed to become a commercial pilot on passenger helicopters or jet planes.

He took the job on August 28 after hearing that three members of a racing syndicate were stuck for a pilot to fly the helicopter, co-owned by one of their members, former Liverpool footballer Terry McDermott, from Dublin to Tralee Racecourse, where their horse was racing.

He told a family member he regarded the flight as his big break into flying larger craft, as opportunities had been limited since the global downturn in the aviation industry.

He flew the first leg of the trip without incident but after leaving his passengers at Tralee, he flew to Kerry Airport to refuel for the return to Dublin, and it was on his way back to Tralee that the accident happened.

He initially told air traffic control he had reservations about the weather conditions, and said he would set down again but then announced he had found a clear stretch ahead and would follow it around the Dingle peninsula rather than go directly to Tralee.

A post mortem examination found he died before the craft burst into flames.