The Chilling Final Moments Of Rescue Helicopter 116 Have Been Heard

The final moments of the crew on board rescue helicopter 116 has been heard in a recording and published in a report that will try to understand what happened in the time leading up to the tragic crash.

The Irish Examiner reports that shortly before the crash of R116 at 00.46am on March 14th, a crew member of the Coast Guard helicopter spotted Black Rock island in Mayo a mere 13 seconds before the helicopter’s tail rotor hit into a building near the lighthouse.

Twenty seconds before the crash, an alarm sounded in the cockpit saying “altitude”.

A crew member then saw the island ahead, and Captain Fitzpatrick was instructed to “come right.”

Captain Duffy confirmed it had been selected, and then said “come right now, come right, COME RIGHT.”

He then spoke two swear words.

The final words of the conversation in the helicopter were also spoken by Captain Duffy, who said “we’re gone.”

Investigations into the crash have also revealed that the lighthouse and the island were not recorded in the database of obstacles, meaning that the crew received no warning that the lighthouse was ahead.

Graham Liddy, an aviation safety expert, told the Irish Examiner: “If there is one error there could be more. All of the Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System databases for Ireland need to be reviewed, audited and certified.”

Two crew members, Ciarán Smith and Paul Ormsby, are still missing.

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