7-YEAR-OLD BOY AND PILOT DIE IN PLANE CRASH
Sixteen parachutists had jumped from aeroplane before accident
THE pilot of a small aircraft and his seven-yearold passenger have died after their plane plunged into a bog in Co. Offaly yesterday afternoon.
Gardaí recovered the bodies of the man and the schoolboy late last night. They were both pronounced dead at the scene.
Emergency services spent much of the day yesterday trying to recover the two occupants after the crash, which occurred in a bog near Edenderry.
The boy is believed to be the son of a member of the local parachute club. He was due to be reunited with his father at Clonbullogue airfield in Offaly. The pilot
was based in the UK. The aircraft had been carrying 16 parachutists who all made their jump before the crash happened.
The aircraft took off from Clonbullogue after 2pm yesterday. The parachutists made their jump but witnesses then saw the aircraft crash shortly afterwards.
‘The plane was later located about two kilometres from the airfield, crashed in bogland,’ a Garda spokesman said.
Local councillor for Edenderry, Noel Cribbin, told the Irish Daily Mail that it was a ‘dreadful’ accident.
‘The parachute club and airstrip are long associated with the area and those involved in the club are widely experienced.
‘It’s not uncommon for the pilots to bring the local children up for a spin in the planes as many of the parents would be involved.
‘The area where the plane crashed is a very remote part of the world and mostly bog. It would be difficult for the emergency services to access.
‘Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the young local boy and the pilot.’
The plane was partly submerged in water on bogland near Mount Lucas, according to the Offaly Express. The water on the heavy bog made it more difficult to recover the plane.
Mount Lucas is known for its large stretches off cut-away bog and the wind farm placed on the bog by Bord na Móna.
Rescue services spent several hours trying to remove the plane from the bog before announcing to the media that both occupants were dead. Gardaí are now contacting next of kin to inform them before the occupants can be publicly identified.
The Irish Parachute Club in Clonbullogue declined to comment when contacted last night.
The Air Accident Investigations Unit confirmed it is investigating the circumstances of the crash.
This is the second plane crash on the island of Ireland in recent weeks. Last month, two people died after a light Cessna aircraft crashed in Co. Antrim. The pair were taking photographs of the landscape.
The plane ended up in a grassy area in a wood. An eyewitness at the time said he rushed to the scene but the two people could not be saved.
Crash site is very remote, mostly bog