Deaths in Rescue 116 helicopter crash in Mayo ruled accidental at inquest

Snickers Man

https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/courts/2022/06/02/inquest-jury-rules-deaths-of-rescue-116-crew-were-accidental/

An Inquest jury has ruled that the deaths were "accidental". Not sure about all the legal implications here because the foreman of the jury also said that 'deficiencies in mapping “contributed considerably to this accident”.'

Too bloody right they did.

I am not a pilot, but I knew a man (long dead now) who flew Fairey Swordfish biplanes off aircraft carriers in the second world war. He once remarked, after a famous case when a private plane crashed at night while flying over water, that it was very common for inexperienced pilots in such circumstances to become disoriented. The golden rule, he said, was "you have to trust your instruments"

If that was true flying open-cockpit biplanes in the 1940s, you would imagine it would be even more valid in the 21st century. One would hope that navigation aids might have actually improved with the advances in digital and GPS technology. By that token, if Captain Fitzpatrick, a highly experienced pilot, was concentrating on her instrument panel instead of looking out the window into the gloom, she was only following best practice. If the information being presented to her was faulty, ie if it neglected to mention that she was heading straight for a rocky promontory, then could the crash really be called an accident? Albeit not her fault?

i think this has some room to run. But as I said, I'm not an aviation professional. Or amateur.

L1011

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