FOG FLIGHT HELL

THE pilots of the aircraft that crash-landed at Cork Airport yesterday, claiming their lives and those of four passengers, have been strongly defended by the chairman of the airline.

Noel Hayes, chairman of Manx2 Airlines, said the air crew followed standard procedures in trying to land three times in dense fog.

“It is sadly not unusual in terms of bad weather for aircraft to take three approaches… it is the standard. I am very confident of the standards and levels in which they operate,” he said.

The crash was the worst air tragedy in the history of the state and resulted in the implementation of a major emergency operation in Cork.

Incredibly, two passengers walked relatively uninjured from the wreckage, while four others were seriously injured.

The four are being treated at Cork University Hospital, where their condition is not life-threatening.

A book of condolences for those who died will be opened at Cork City Hall today.

Last night, aviation experts disagreed with the airline’s chairman and said it was most unusual for pilots to make more than two attempts at landing.

Former training captain with Aer Lingus Ted McCourt said the pilot may have put himself “under unnecessary pressure” when attempting to land the plane for a third time.

“If you’re coming in and you’ve partial visibility of the runway first time or second time, you think: ‘Well, I’ll get there next time.’ He did go off and hold for a period of time, it seems, in an expectation that conditions might have improved but, ordinarily, three goes is just putting yourself under unnecessary pressure.”

The investigation into the tragedy will focus on weather conditions and the decision by the pilot to make repeated attempts to land.

The 19-seat Manx2 commuter flight took off from Belfast at 8.12am bound for Cork and crashed on its third attempt to land in dense fog just after 9.40am.

There were 12 people on board — two crew and 10 passengers — for the 70-minute flight.

An international investigation, led by the Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) of the Department of Transport, and including authorities from Britain and Spain, where the aircraft was registered, is now underway.

The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder were retrieved last night.

A preliminary report is expected within a month but it could take up to a year for the full report to emerge.

Manx2 Airlines is also conducting its own investigation and is liaising with the AAIU.

Visibility was very low at Cork Airport as the aircraft made its final approach from the north, over Cork city, for Runway 17.

The pilot aborted the first attempt and tried to land a second time on Runway 35.

He performed a turn-around and flew a holding pattern for up to 20 minutes before attempting to land a third time, again on Runway 17, when the aircraft crashed on the runway.

It flipped onto its roof, slid onto a grass verge and its right engine burst into flames.

It has emerged that visibility was so poor at the time that air traffic controllers were not aware that the plane had crashed. It was only when they failed to make contact with the pilot that they realised something was wrong.

The plane’s emergency beacon was activated within seconds of the crash.

Airport fire crews rushed to the scene and had the flames out within minutes. They were praised yesterday for preventing it from spreading to the fuselage.

However, six people, including the two crew, were pronounced dead at the scene.

The deceased were all male — a Spanish national believed to be the pilot, three residents of the North and two residents of Britain.

One of the dead was named as Brendan McAleese, first cousin of President Mary McAleese’s husband Martin.

The 39-year-old married father of a young family was living in Tanaghmore in Co Antrim and had recently been promoted to managing director of Central Laundries in Cookstown, Co Tyrone.

Pat Cullinan, who was married with children and originally from Omagh in Co Tyrone, was also named as one of the victims of the crash. Mr Cullinan, who was in his 40s, was a senior partner with KPMG in Belfast.

Belfast’s deputy harbour master was also among those killed in the crash. Michael Evans, understood to have been in his mid-40s, was married with adult children.

Pilot Jorge Sola Lopez, 31, also lost his life in the crash. A single man from Barcelona, his family are due to arrive in Cork today to formally identify his body.

A number of passengers managed to walk assisted from the wreckage.

One of those was Kinsale-born Heather Elliott, who was seated near the wing of the twin turbo prop aircraft.

A married mother-of-two in her 40s, Heather has lived in Belfast for many years and was returning to Kinsale to visit her mother for the weekend.

Kinsale-based Canon David Williams visited the airport with members of her family yesterday before they departed to Cork University Hospital.

He said Heather was in a deep state of shock, but was surprisingly upbeat.

“She is still in a state of shock and she is being treated for her injuries at the A&E department, but she should make a full recovery,” Canon Williams said.