Rescue 116: Family of Dara Fitzpatrick say crew was 'badly let down'

Captain Dara Fitzpatrick, Captain Mark Duffy, and winch men Ciarán Smith and Paul Ormsby all lost their lives on March 14, 2017. The Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) found that the helicopter’s crew was unaware there was a 282ft obstacle on their flight path as they flew along a pre-programmed route that night.

The final investigation into the Rescue 116 crash that killed four people has found that there were “serious and important weaknesses” in aspects of the flight operator’s safety management system.

It found that the helicopter’s crew was unaware there was a 282ft obstacle on their flight path as they flew along a pre-programmed route on the night of the crash in March 2017.