Inquest into deaths of five killed in helicopter crash adjourned

An inquest into the deaths of five family members killed in a helicopter crash has been opened and adjourned.

Three brothers and two of their wives died in the crash in mountains in Snowdonia, North Wales, earlier this year.

Those killed were Kevin and Ruth Burke, aged 56 and 49, Donald and Sharon Burke, aged 55 and 48, and Barry Burke (51).

The five, from a family with roots in Britain and Ireland, lived in the Milton Keynes area and were on their way to Dublin on March 29th, for a party following the confirmation of another young relative.

When their privately-owned Twin Squirrel aircraft failed to land in Ireland a major search was launched.

Their bodies were later found with the wreckage of the helicopter in the remote Rhinog mountains near Trawsfynydd, North Wales.

On Thursday, Dewi Pritchard Jones, senior coroner for North West Wales, told Caernarfon Coroner’s Court the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) was conducting an inquiry into the cause of the crash and from experience of previous inquests involving aircraft accidents, their work and final report would take up to a year to complete.

- PA