Fresh searches for missing Rescue 116 men off Blackrock to take place this weekend

A new search gets underway this weekend for the bodies of two airmen still missing since Coast Guard Rescue 116 crashed off the Donegal coast earlier this year.

Weather permitting, Garda divers and a local fishing vessel will search the seabed near Blackrock island on Sunday.

A specially designed net will be used as part of the investigation.

Captain Dara Fitzpatrick, Captain Mark Duffy, and winchmen Paul Ormsby and Ciaran Smith all died in the fatal helicopter crash on March 14th.

The bodies of Paul Ormsby and Ciaran Smith were never recovered.

Last night, it was revealed on RTÉ's Prime Time that a pilot had previously flagged the absence of Black Rock from the onboard warning system four years ago.

The programme revealed that the pilot who carried out test flights on the new safety systems reported the lethal danger inherent in the absence of Black Rock but the error was not corrected at that time.

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