R116 helicopter crash deaths inquest hears visibility was ‘very poor and dense’

(Left-right) Captain Michael Scott, Engineer Simon Sweeny, Tommy Fitzsimons and winchman Philip Wrenn arriving at the inquest (Niall Carson/PA)

An inquest into the deaths of four Coast Guard aircrew in the Rescue 116 helicopter crash has heard how the visibility in the moments before the crash was “very poor and dense”.

Rescue 116 crashed off Co Mayo at 12.46am on March 14 2017, during a search-and-rescue mission with four crew on board, after it struck Blackrock Island, 12 miles off the Irish coast.