MINISTER FOR Tourism Martin Cullen escaped injury yesterday when the door of a helicopter in which he was travelling dropped off in mid-air and fell 500ft into Killarney National Park, Co Kerry.
The Air Corps helicopter was bringing the Minister and one of his officials back to Dublin from an Irish Hotels’ Federation conference in Co Kerry, when it was forced to make an emergency landing at a helicopter pad at Killarney Golf and Fishing Club.
The ministerial group was barely three minutes into the 80-minute journey when the door of the AW 139 helicopter fell off.
The incident happened shortly after 3.30pm.
It took several minutes for the helicopter to make what a Defence Forces spokesman called a “precautionary landing” on the golf club’s helipad.
One of the first people to greet Mr Cullen when the damaged helicopter touched down was Senator Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael), the president of the golf club.
Mr Coghlan said the Minister had got a fright but was taken to the club house where he was given a cup of tea.
A spokesman for the Defence Forces said no one was injured in the incident.
“I’m sure they got a fright but they were at no risk at all.”
He said the Minister and his assistant, who had been travelling with a crew of three, would have been securely strapped in and pointed out that the helicopter is able to fly with its doors open, as long as it travels below certain speeds.
The aircraft routinely flies with the doors open during military exercises and search-and-rescue operations, he added.
While the passengers and crew may have been secure at all times, the same cannot be said for the door, and its whereabouts remained unknown last night. However, gardaí and military personnel have concentrated their search in a small area of the national park.
A military airworthiness inspection team and technicians from Air Corps headquarters at Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel, Co Dublin, flew to Kerry last night to begin an investigation.
The Department of Defence spokesman said it was far too early to say what the cause of the incident was but said all avenues would be explored to determine where the fault was.