Airport access key to rescue
AN AVIATION expert claimed that the proximity of Waterford Airport was key to the quick rescue operation of the light aircraft that crashed at Carnsore Point with four people on board on Friday evening.
That’s according to Philip Smythe, the Chief Safety Officer of the Atlantic Flight Training Academy, whose senior instructor John Walton played a supporting role in the rescue effort.
His party of four, including two cadets, received a call from the airport’s Air Traffic Control to locate the light aircraft, which crashlanded on Carnsore Point after what is understood to have been engine troubles.
The airport acts as a satellite base for AFTA’s operations.
Mr Smythe said the fact that it was open played a huge role in the speed of the rescue.
“The very presence of having an airport in the South-Eastern corner of the country was obviously key to it as well. It is a vital part of the aviation infrastructure, having an airport there and also having a rescue service readily on hand was vital, so it all worked.”