Gardaí appeal for pilot of plane in crash scare to come forward
Dingle-based Sgt Mossie O’Donnell yesterday said there was a plane around the Lispole area at the time the alarm was raised and it was seen heading in a southerly direction towards Glenbeigh, Co Kerry.
“We’re trying to trace the plane so as to clear up the situation,” he said.
“We’re now satisfied there wasn’t a crash, but it was most certainly not a hoax.
“Eyewitnesses genuinely thought they saw a plane coming down.”
A number of people reported hearing a loud bang and one man said he had seen flames in the mountainous Maum area.
Up to 100 people were involved in the search, including a Shannon Coastguard helicopter, gardaí, ambulance and fire brigade personnel, Kerry Mountain Rescue and cliff and coastal rescue services.
Kerry County Council yesterday estimated the cost of the involvement of its fire brigades at €5,000.
The total cost of the operation was reckoned to be around €20,000.
Rescue and emergency services said they had to respond when the alarm was raised after eye witnesses in the Lispole area said they saw a light aircraft in difficulty at around 5.30pm.
The helicopter scanned a wide area between Lispole and Stradbally for an hour and a half and the search was called off when nothing was found.
