The pilot killed in a Kerry helicopter crash lacked operational experience for the demanding conditions, writes Chris Dooley.
An official report into a helicopter crash on the Dingle peninsula has shown how the pilot flew into a mountain when he apparently thought he was rounding the headland.
Mr David Reid, a father of two from Blackhorse Avenue, in Dublin, crashed into hilly terrain near Dingle, Co Kerry, in dense fog on August 28th last year.
The 42-year-old pilot lacked operational experience, the official investigation found.
He had been attempting to return to Tralee racecourse to pick up three passengers, after a refuelling stop at Kerry Airport.
The report by the Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) of the Department of Transport found that Mr Reid did not comply with a condition of his licence that he should not fly out of sight of the ground.
He also lacked operational experience for the "demanding conditions" confronting him.
Mr Reid was a part-time helicopter training instructor who wanted to pursue a career in full-time commercial aviation, a member of his family told the investigation team. When he was hired to take three people from Dublin to the races in Tralee and back, he regarded it as "his first big break in getting a long operational flight in a turbine engine helicopter".
The outward leg to Tralee was uneventful and Mr Reid's passengers described him as being "in good form, talkative and enthusiastic about the flight".
"He took time to explain to the passenger seated beside him all the instruments on the instrument panel, including GPS navigation display."
While his passengers were at the races, Mr Reid had the Bell JetRanger helicopter refuelled at Kerry Airport and attempted to return to Tralee via the Dingle peninsula coastline. Witnesses described hearing the helicopter flying at low speeds and at very low altitude, in poor visibility.
"At times the helicopter was seen following definite features such as roads and the shoreline, while at other times it would appear that the helicopter was transiting over open ground," said the report.
A woman living at the foot of Croaghskearda mountain, where the crash occurred, described her concerns upon hearing the helicopter fly low over her house.
She was about to phone the gardaí at Dingle to alert them when "she heard the sound of the helicopter change, then a loud bang and, after that, total silence", said the report.
She immediately dialled 999 and reported what she had heard.
Another witness told how he and his brother located the burning wreckage of the helicopter and the remains of the pilot on the mountainside.
Just after locating the wreckage, the men heard a mobile phone ringing in the vicinity of the site. The caller identified himself as a passenger who was awaiting arrival of the helicopter in Tralee. Mr Reid had earlier told the passenger by phone that he was "coming around the headland" and would be with the men in 10 minutes. This suggests, said the report, that when Mr Reid turned inland over the peninsula at Trabeg, he may have mistakenly believed he was rounding Slea Head.
The report's safety recommendations include a call called on the Irish Aviation Authority to reissue a warning about the use of mobile phones in aircraft.