The circumstances of the helicopter crash which claimed the lives of four Air Corps personnel could scarcely have been more poignant; their Dauphin helicopter which had began operations in Co Waterford on Thursday was returning from a successful rescue mission when it crashed in dense fog into a large sand dune at Tramore beach. It was the first crash of an Air Corps helicopter in active service in the history of the State. The first and most appropriate response of every citizen to this tragedy must be to express condolences and a sense of solidarity with the families, relatives and friends of those who died. The community has come to take the courageous and noble work of the search and rescue services for granted; the Tramore crash is a terrible reminder of the danger that forms an integral part of that work. The arrival of the Dauphin at Waterford Airport this week had been greeted with great pride and no small measure of relief by the people of the city and, indeed, the wider south-east region. The Dauphin replaced the Alouette helicopter which was stationed at Waterford a year ago, but which was limited to daylight hours only. Speaking on Thursday, the Minister for the Marine, Dr Woods, spoke proudly of how a "world class" rescue helicopter coverage would now be available 24 hours a day along the south-east coast. Yesterday, Dr Woods, was among the first to pay tribute to "highly skilled and very brave men".
The scene of the accident has now been sealed off as air accident investigators from both the Department of Defence and the Defence Forces examine the wreckage. At this juncture, the precise cause of the crash is unknown; the dense fog was clearly a contributory factor but this, in itself, does not fully explain why the Dauphin crashed into a 150 ft high sand dune only yards from a safe landing area on the beach. Only some 15 minutes earlier, the crew had successfully guided a lifeboat to safety, it then made three unsuccessful efforts to land at Waterford Airport before proceeding to the beach. It may be that the limited range of the Dauphin was a factor; the helicopter has a range of only 50-70 nautical miles at night and in bad weather. There are reports that the Dauphin may have run out of fuel. The crash, and the circumstances of it, will refocus attention on the need of the Air Corps to replace or reinforce the existing short-range helicopter capability with medium range craft for 24-hour search and rescue. A recent Price Waterhouse report recommended that the Air Corps be equipped with four medium-lift helicopters over a four-year period. To date, there has been no significant movement on the Minister for Defence's proposed implementation plan for the report. These are questions for another day. This weekend, the thoughts of everyone on this island will be with the families of the crew members. The hope must be that they can - in the words of the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, - find some solace in the bravery and selfless commitment to duty displayed by their loved ones.