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US Registered S76 crashes in Ireland

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  • US Registered S76 crashes in Ireland

    A helicopter has crashed in Bettystown in Co Meath. (about 35 miles from Dublin)

    The aircraft crashed beside the Neptune Hotel, which is currently being used as a temporary secondary school. The crash scene is inside the entrance of Neptune Terrace, which is a row of houses facing Bettystown beach.

    The helicopter is an American-registered S76 helicopter with an Irish pilot on board. It appears the pilot was attempting to land in Bettystown when the accident happened. He escaped from the aircraft but two passers-by were hit with debris and some debris entered surrounding buildings.


    The helicopter caught fire after it crashed but the emergency services extinguished the fire. Four people including the pilot were taken to Our Lady of Lourdes hospital in Drogheda, however, have now been discharged.

    A boy remains in hospital with what are thought to be minor injuries.
    There are three members of the Air Accident Investigation Unit from the Department of Transport on site. The emergency services have cordoned off the area.


  • #2
    Pictures of the a/c and the scene


    Taken a short while before it crashed



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    • #3
      more pictures......ttp://www.independent.ie/national-news/miracle-escape-in-helicopter-inferno-1478189.html

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      • #4
        We actually have a photo taken by a JetPhotos member:
        [photoid=6362014]

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        • #5
          Amazing that everyone is alive.

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          • #6
            A shame to see another aircraft down, glad to see everyone survived though. From the proximity of local buildings, lucky nobody on the ground was seriously injured.

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            • #7
              Preliminary report............


              Helicopter crash pilot was trying to avoid sightseers

              By Fiach Kelly
              Wednesday October 15 2008
              THE crash in which a helicopter burst into flames only yards away from a school was caused by one of the aircraft's rotors hitting a lamp-post as the pilot tried to land in a carpark, according to an air accident report.

              Pilot Bill Curry miraculously escaped unscathed when the 14-seater US-registered Sikorsky S-76B, which was built in 1985, was totally destroyed in a ball of flames following the crash in Bettystown in Co Meath last month.

              The preliminary report by the Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) found that the aircraft -- which had no technical faults -- landed on the nearby beach to let two passengers off, on Thursday September 18.

              But after the pilot became concerned at sightseers gathering around the helicopter, he took off again to land in the carpark of the old Neptune hotel complex, which now houses the Colaiste na hInse school.

              Concerns

              "The helicopter was repositioned by the pilot, the only occupant, to a nearby carpark in the centre of the village of Bettystown," the report by investigator Paddy Judge said.

              "This was due to his concerns regarding the increasing number of sightseers gathering around the helicopter.

              "The carpark was originally part of a hotel complex and was located at an approximate distance of 100 metres from the original landing position on the beach."

              As it was descending, the rotor at the rear hit a lamp-post, sending the aircraft plunging to the ground.

              "As the helicopter performed a vertical 'tower' descent into the confined carpark, the left-hand rear side of the main rotor disk struck a six-metre-high lamp-post. The initial contact was with the light fitting on top of the lamp-post, followed by a more substantial contact with its supporting steel pole," the report stated.

              "The helicopter then rotated clockwise and rolled to the left. Its main rotor disintegrated on ground contact, while the tail rotor hit a low wall," the report continued.

              The helicopter burst into flames with debris striking two bystanders, who suffered minor injuries, but the pilot managed to escape unaided without serious injury.

              "Considerable collateral damage occurred when flying debris from the helicopter hit nearby properties and cars," the report added.

              "The Emergency Fire Services responded in a timely manner and extinguished the fire and the investigation has not identified any technical problem with the helicopter to date."

              The investigation is ongoing and the AAIU says that the full report will be released in due time.

              - Fiach Kelly

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