Concern for Plane reported Overdue.

highlydebased

darragh-k wrote: »

As per above, I am open to correction but thats the general gist of it, it may be below 2500ft that you dont need to call shannon control at or something like that but thats the gist of vfr rules that apply in this case.

Depends where it is obviously, they would have been in communication with Dublin info if it was open or else Dublin South. Most likely that was uncontrolled airspace though.

With regards to closing the plan, in general a pilot can request his plan be closed, generally before leaving the frequency and in this case before switching to Kilrush radio. It is also possible to leave the plan open and have it closed by landline upon landing.

irishatco

BrianD wrote: »

Iy will be interesting to see the time lines of the official report. It is my perception - and I don't know if this is shared by others - but there seems to be gap between the plane disappearing and it being reported as "overdue" - at least to the public. Were the relevant authorities aware of the gravity in the interim or is there a potential hole in aviation safety for light aircraft?

General comment

One a pilot closes his flightplan and remains outside controlled airspace, ATC will provide where possible a Flight Information Service and an Alerting Service.

It is impossible to provide an FIS to a pilot who has left the frequency, which he is perfectly entitled to do while remaining VFR in class G airspace. It is not compulsory for flights in class G airspace to call any ATS unit.

The Alerting Service (SAR and assistance in event of an emergency) can only be provided if reasonable evidence exists to suggest an aircraft is difficulty. Again, unless the aircraft is in two-way comms with an ATS unit, or a report is received from another aircraft in the vicinity, it is difficult to establish if an aircraft is in any difficulty and to initiate SAR.

The laws of physics dictate that radar and radio coverage to the south and south-west of the Dublin CTA is intermittent at very low levels due to high ground, it is normal for low flying aircraft to drop below radar coverage at times.

There were media reports that the owner and operator of Kilrush airfield usually received a phone call from the unfortunate pilot to advise him of his intended flight, but on this occasion he did not receive a call, which may have contributed to the delay in raising the alarm. However, I urge posters not to try draw conclusions from sketchy media reports, or indeed from this or other websites, and wait until suitably qualified air accident investigators have completed their work.

mikeyb wrote: »

A private pilot can decide on a whim to change his route and visit another county if he wants to etc. without having to tell anybody immediately (AFAIK).

Flights that cross international boundaries require a flight plan to be filed.

FlutterinBantam

Based on the wx forecast for Sat. a single engine flt to Ireland might not be a great idea.

Just my opinion and sympathies to all involved.

BeardyGit

BrianD wrote: »

Nobody doubts the professionalism of the emergency services and it appears that the plane wreckage was found very quickly once the search started.

Iy will be interesting to see the time lines of the official report. It is my perception - and I don't know if this is shared by others - but there seems to be gap between the plane disappearing and it being reported as "overdue" - at least to the public. Were the relevant authorities aware of the gravity in the interim or is there a potential hole in aviation safety for light aircraft?

I also believe that "overdue" was a poor choice of words to be used by the media and I presume it came from an official source or press release. "Overdue" lacks urgency and greatly plays down the situation. We live in Ireland where nearly everything is "overdue" so why worry?

It was quite obvious that a plane that is in flight and then does not turn up is not "overdue" but "missing" or "lost". This would have instilled a lot more urgency in media reports and could have generated reports from the public earlier who can assist the emergency services and I believe it was reports from the public who helped narrow the search.

Even on Sunday morning RTE (and I'm sure other media outlets) were still using the word "overdue" while it's clear a major search and rescue operation was underway.

A major operation was actually underway from late Saturday night. The reality of the situation is that conditions on the ground (nighfall, low visibility etc), and local flying conditions in the priority search areas, largely prohibited any 'large scale' search until daylight returned, by which time a strategic seach plan had been formulated and the appropriate resources had the time to prepare and assemble on scene. These included the Gardaí, Coastguard, Mountain Rescue teams along with input from members of the IAA/ACIU, The defence forces etc....

Bear in mind that it was already night by the time the aircraft was reported 'overdue'/missing etc., and there was little else that could have been done in the circumstances.

If the local weather conditions were more amenable to an air search, I'm pretty sure a suitable resource would have been on scene. However, without the time to gather clues as to the likely whereabouts of a crash site, it would still have been a needle in a haystack search in many ways. Bear in mind that you're looking at hundreds of square kilometres...at night...with that weather....

Looking at this without the perspective of either an aviator, it looks to have been a series of unfortunate events conspiring to create the situation we discuss now. May they rest in eternal peace.

I'll leave this thread here - All the best,

Gil

mikeyb

irishatco

I think you might have read 'country' for 'county' in your quote of my post?