Flare most likely cause of crash scare, say gardaí

A major search in the Co Kerry mountains was probably sparked by eyewitnesses mistaking a flare for a small plane, gardaí said today.

Officers and a rescue helicopter scoured the Stradbally mountains for hours last night after two separate reports of a light aircraft in difficulty.

The Shannon coastguard helicopter flew over the area of Lispole and the Connor Pass but did not find any signs of a crash.

A Garda spokesman said today: “There were no distress calls at all so the witnesses probably just saw a flare and thought it was a plane.

“If somebody was missing at this stage the alarm would have been raised.”