WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT THE CRITICAL ISSUE OF R116’S VERTICAL APPROACH
Talking to the MoS, an aviation expert asked about R116’s vertical profile:
‘Looking at Figure 4 in the report, it shows an extract of the procedure, the flight path, which would have been a company developed procedure, and it has Blackrock island and lighthouse in it, including its height of 282ft.
‘There is usually another section or page detailing the vertical profile to be flown in conjunction with the lateral profile illustrated in Figure 4, above. The vertical profile essentially details the altitude at the various stages or waypoints along the route that the aircraft should be flying at to ensure obstacle clearance.
‘It will give you the altitude you should be at so that even if you can’t see the obstacle you will still clear them by a safe margin.’
The Air Accident Investigation Unit referred the MoS to its Interim Safety Recommendation No.1:
‘CHC Ireland should review/reevaluate all route guides in use by its SAR helicopters in Ireland, with a view to enhancing the information provided on obstacle heights and positions, terrain clearance, vertical profile, the positions of waypoints in relation to obstacles and EGPWS database terrain and obstacle limitations.’
CHC Ireland, which provides the Coast Guard rescue service, said:
‘CHC Ireland is grateful to the Irish Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) for its initial report. We note the safety recommendations made. A review of all route guides in use is well under way as part of our own internal action.
‘We will continue to fully support the ongoing AAIU investigation. It is worth stressing that this is an initial report and it does not identify the root cause of this tragic accident. Speculation as to the root cause is unhelpful to the process and potentially hurtful to the families and friends of those involved.
‘We look forward to updates from the AAIU in due course.