High winds and rough seas hamper search for R116 crew
THE search at sea for the wreckage of Coast Guard helicopter R116 and its vital black box was hampered again yesterday by high winds and rough seas.
However searchers in Co. Mayo found gloves worn by missing winchman Ciarán Smith at separate locations. These have been given to his daughter, said a source.
Today the funeral of recovered crew member Captain Dara Fitzpatrick, 45, is to be held.
President Michael D Higgins is expected to be among the mourners at St Patrick’s Church in Glencullen, Co. Dublin.
Search and rescue teams trying to recover the helicopter and black box were hindered by fierce conditions yesterday. R116’s black
Efforts focused on shoreline instead
box is beneath about 40metres of waters close to Blackrock lighthouse off the Co. Mayo coast. The device could give vital clues about the helicopter’s final moments.
The Sikorsky S-92 crashed into the sea early on Tuesday during a mission to provide cover while sister helicopter R118 was attending an emergency out at sea.
Captain Fitzpatrick was recovered shortly after the accident but she was later confirmed dead.
R116’s wreckage is expected to be found at the same location as the black box, along with winchmen Paul Ormsby and Ciarán Smith, and chief pilot Mark Duffy.
Naval vessel the LÉ Eithne continued to conduct a sea-surface search in Blacksod Bay yesterday but all other search boats were docked as sea and weather conditions remained treacherous.
More than 120 volunteers instead focused their efforts on a coordinated search of the shoreline led by members of the local Coast Guard.
Among the volunteers were 25 members of Dublin’s Wild Geese GAA, of which missing winchman Mr Smith is a member.
The search was also supported by Bernard Lucas, husband of Coast Guard volunteer Caitríona Lucas who perished last September. Former Dublin goalkeeper John O’Leary and the families of the other crew members are also supporting the search.
It is hoped that a three-hour window between low tides tomorrow will provide an opportunity to conduct preparatory work for the location and recovery of the black box near Blackrock. However, members of the Garda and naval diving teams have privately said it could be Wednesday before the substantive operation to recover the R116 gets under way.
The Commissioner of Irish Lights ship, the Granuaile, left Blacksod Bay for Galway yesterday to collect equipment for use in the recovery of the wreckage. It will return in time for the possible operation tomorrow.
Declan Geoghegan, operations manager with the Irish Coast Guard, said: ‘If you look at helicopter crashes, 92% or 93% of the time the bodies are found within the wreckage of the fuselage, it is so small.’
The search has been narrowed to an area of sea that measures 100 metres by 80 metres close to Blackrock, a jagged outpost of the north-western coastline about 12 kilometres from Blacksod, Co. Mayo.
A section of the missing helicopter was discovered on the tiny island on Thursday night by the Air Accident Investigations Unit.
However, no impact marks were detected and it is possible the debris was washed ashore by the high swells.
Air accident investigators have said there is no evidence to suggest the helicopter struck the rock or lighthouse before the aircraft entered the sea.