Inquiry finds pilot flew too low before fatal helicopter crash

AN investigation into a helicopter crash which claimed the lives of those on board has criticised the pilot for flying too low and in an area not suitable for such training exercises.

The pilot, instructor Colm Clancy, 34, from Co Donegal, and his student, Dermot Sheridan, 24, from Co Clare, were killed in the crash on April 1, 2009, in an area of machined bog at Kilshanchoe, Co Kildare.

Yesterday, a report by the Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) found the accident occurred when the helicopter hit disused power lines 30 feet over ground.

Investigators said this was the sixth “wire strike” in general aviation in the past year and the frequency of such strikes was a cause for concern.

By comparison there had been two cable strikes in the previous 12 years. The AAIU recommended the Irish Aviation Authority conduct a campaign to raise awareness of wire strikes among pilots — which the authority has agreed to do.

The report also revealed that Mr Sheridan tested positive for cannabis in a test carried out during the postmortem exam. However investigators said they were satisfied this “did not have a bearing on the accident”; that Mr Sheridan had not seemed impaired before the flight and that the flight itself was not “erratic in any way”. The postmortem exam said Mr Sheridan could have used the substance in the recent past “which could be hours, days or weeks”.

The AAIU criticised the European Helicopter Academy, at Weston Airfield, Co Kildare, for its level of instructor oversight. Although Mr Sheridan had booked a training slot, there was no written record at the academy of the flight having departed. This omission made the status of the helicopter unclear. The academy closed for the day at 4.30pm. Later in the evening, the air traffic control officer at Weston noted the helicopter had not returned but considered it had landed elsewhere as it had the previous day.

The alert for the missing helicopter was only raised when family members of the pilots became concerned the next day.

Investigators concluded that the instructor was probably training his student in auto-rotation, where the engine does not power the rotors, simulating an engine failure, immediately prior to the collision.

Normally this is done between 1,000 and 2,000ft. The minimum height for flying in Ireland is 500 feet. The power lines were 30 feet high.

The visibility of cables is frequently extremely difficult, according to the report.