Poor decisions, systematic failures led to crash

The Irish Air Accident Investigation Unit has identified a series of poor pilot decisions and a range of serious systemic failures, and has issued 11 safety recommendations following its exhaustive probe into the 2011 Cork Airport plane crash disaster.

This led to the loss of control of the aircraft, which crashed in dense fog with the loss of six lives, the report published yesterday confirmed.

But it has also identified a catalogue of systemic deficiencies at operational, organisational, and regulatory levels which oversaw the operation of the flight, including pilot training, the scheduling of flight crews, and maintenance.