Ryder Cup fans’ flight came close to tragedy
The private aircraft, a 1980 Eurocopter AS 350, was shuttling four fans to Limerick from the tournament at Kildare’s K Club, when the pilot was forced to land in a field in Co Offaly.
The incident took place on September 23, the first day of the prestigious tournament.
The helicopter’s fuel tank was found to contain just 6.5 litres of fuel — just over 1% of its capacity, the Government’s Air Accident Investigation Unit revealed.
The pilot had taken the helicopter to the K Club’s fuel station, where refuelling began while the engine remained running and the rotors turned.
“During refuelling, the helicopter fuel gauge rose to 20% (108 litres) and stopped,” the initial report into the incident said.
“The pilot asked the refueller how much had been put into the helicopter and was told 250 litres.
“The pilot surmised the gauge was sticking and [was] therefore unreliable, and asked the refueller to put in a total of 300 litres.
“The refuelling reportedly over-ran slightly and the pilot was presented with a manually-generated fuel docket for 302 litres.
“The gauge remained at 20%.”
The pilot parked the aircraft at a nearby landing point. At 6.30pm, the four fans got on board toreturn to Co Limerick.
The gauge still showed the tank was 20% full, but 35 minutes into the flight, the pilot was forced to land in a field at Dunkerrin, Co Offaly, due to fuel shortage.
“The fuel tank was drained the following morning and 6.5 litres of fuel was recovered,” the investigators’ report said.
No evidence of a leak was found on the helicopter, in the field at Dunkerrin or where the helicopter was parked at the K Club.
Air accident investigators visited the refuelling base and noted irregularities in the records of fuel dispensed.
Investigators referred to the practice of “hot refuelling”, which means pilots are unable to check fuel contents independently of the gauges.
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