Senior Counsel to review parts of final draft report into Rescue 116 loss

Senior counsel Patrick McCann has been appointed to chair a review board into aspects of the draft final report on the loss of four Irish Coast Guard Rescue 116 helicopter crew off north Mayo almost three years ago.

Mr McCann will be assisted by an “independent expert member”, Transport Minister Shane Ross said in a statement announcing the establishment of the review board — two months after it was first sought.

Mr Ross said the review board would “re-examine certain findings of the draft final report”.

His department had confirmed in early January that a review of the draft final report by the Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) had been requested by a “stakeholder”, which it would not identify.

It said then that “arrangements are being put in place” to set this board up, and confirmed the review would be held in private.

CHC Ireland, which employed the officers that died — Captain Dara Fitzpatrick, Captain Mark Duffy, and winch crew Paul Ormsby and Ciarán Smith — declined to say whether it sought the review.

The four air/sea rescue helicopter crew died when their Sikorsky S-92 hit Blackrock island off north Mayo in the early hours of March 14, 2017. The bodies of Mr Ormsby and Mr Smith have not been found to date.

Under the Air Navigation (Notification and Investigation of Accidents, Serious Incidents and Incidents) Regulations 2009, an “interested party” may serve on the minister written “notice of re-examination”.

This is “in respect of findings and conclusions that appear to reflect adversely on the person’s reputation”.

CHC Ireland holds the 10-year Irish Coast Guard search and rescue contract, which is worth €50m a year, and is due to expire in 2022, though an extension could be allowed to 2025.

Work has already begun on preparing a new tender.

The AAIU ruled out mechanical failure early on in its preliminary report into the crash, and an interim report was published a year after the crash.

An interim statement was published on March 1, 2019.

The AAIU has already identified in its preliminary report that the Dublin-based crew was flying with inaccurate chart information and faulty installation of satellite locators in the pilots’ lifejackets.

Rescue 116 had been tasked on the night of March 13, 2017, to provide “top cover” support to the Sligo-based Rescue 118 helicopter for a medical evacuation off the west coast.

The draft final report was issued on September 13, 2019, to “interested parties”, including the four bereaved families and CHC Ireland. The parties were given 60 days to review this report and offer comments.

“The review board will be chaired by senior counsel Patrick McCann who will be assisted by an independent expert member.

“The review board will be entirely independent in its work in accordance with the relevant legislation,” Mr Ross’s statement said.

The AAIU said last January that it would continue to handle submissions in relation to the draft conclusions.

The review board’s chair must be a barrister or solicitor of 10 years’ standing, or a person who, in the minister’s opinion, has “aeronautical or engineering knowledge”.

The minister may also appoint one or more technical assessors. A report is compiled for the minister if the re-examination proceeds.