Plane that crashed near Waterford Airport removed as air accident investigation continues

The light aircraft crashed near Waterford Airport on Thursday afternoon. Picture: Howard Crowdy

The plane involved in the fatal air crash in Tramore, Co Waterford has been removed to a site in Meath for examination by air accident investigators.

It is understood that the private twin engine aircraft had only recently been purchased and had been parked up at Sligo airport for “a while” according to local sources.

The aircraft was removed from a field at Lisselan, beside Waterford Airport, on Friday following a preliminary examination by a team from the Air Accident Investigation Unit.

It is understood the plane had been at Sligo airport for a number of months and was collected on Thursday morning to be flown to France.

The pilot was the only occupant of the Vulcanair P68C when it nosedived into the field just before 1pm on Thursday afternoon. It was on a flight from Sligo airport to Beziers in the south of France but had done a u-turn off the southeast coast to make an emergency landing in Waterford.

The man’s remains were taken to University Hospital Waterford for a post mortem examination. His identity has not been released and it is not known if he was from the Sligo area.

The plane was an Irish registered aircraft (EI-HPY) so there's a "high probability" the pilot was Irish, according to sources with aviation knowledge.

Emergency services and investigators on the scene at the air accident site at Lisselan, near Waterford Airport on Thursday. Picture: Larry Cummins

“It’s shocking news for the airport community that somebody would not make their destination and meet a sudden death,” said Sligo Fianna Fáil councillor Edel McSharry, who also sits on the board of Sligo Airport.

"Our deep condolences to the family of the pilot on their tragic death. 

It’s very hard to explain and I’m sure investigations will take place to find out the exact cause of the breakdown of the aircraft.

Flights by small private planes to and from France are not uncommon at Sligo airport which only operates private flights since commercial flights ended in 2011.

A team of four investigators from the AAIU travelled to the crash site at Lisselan, 3km from Tramore, on Thursday afternoon and finished a preliminary examination of the plane on site later in the evening.

As well as examining the plane, investigators will analyse any attempts at communication made from the aircraft in a bid to piece together what led to the fatal crash. 

There is no 'black box' flight recorder in a plane of its size. However, the investigation will look at whether the pilot tried to raise the alarm that he was experiencing difficulties. Source say the investigation could take several months to complete.

More than 30 emergency personnel responded to the crash at Lisselan, on the coast road between Tramore and Dunmore East, 3km outside Tramore.

Traffic in the area was diverted as emergency services worked at the scene.

Responders included gardaí, the National Ambulance Service, fire service personnel and members of the Irish Coastguard. The Air Accident Investigation Unit confirmed shortly after the incident that four investigators were being dispatched to the scene.

Gardaí say that their role in the investigation will be to prepare a file for the coroner’s court.