Instructor pilot criticised in report

A 24-year-old Clare student pilot, on a training flight, died after the helicopter came in contact with disused electrical power lines and crashed, also claiming the life of the instructor, according to a report into the fatal crash.

Dermot Sheridan from Blackwater, Ardnacrusha and the instructor, Colm Clancy (34) from Derrybeg in County Donegal, were both killed in the crash, which happened in machined bog land in Kilshancoe, County Kildare last year.
Accident investigators found that the Schweizer 269C helicopter was operating “considerably below” the legal limit of 500ft when it crashed after striking cable lines that were 30ft above ground level.
The Air Accident Investigation Unit, in a report, criticised the pilot for engaging in low-level flying exercises below the minimum height in an undesignated area and the flying school where he was employed, the European Helicopter Academy, for its level of instructor oversight.
Furthermore, the investigation made one safety recommendation relating to increased awareness of cable strikes.
The AAIU report says that just after 4pm on April 1, 2009, the Schwiezer 269C aircraft left Weston Aerodrome in Dublin on a training flight. It was last heard from as it left the Dublin control zone at 4.12pm. The alarm was raised the next day after enquiries by members of Mr Clancy’s family.
The wreckage of the two-seat, light utility helicopter was subsequently found by the coastguard helicopter in bog land at Kilshancoe.
“During a probable low-level transition after a practice autorotation, the helicopter impacted disused electrical power lines. The accident was not survivable and both occupants were fatally injured. There was no fire,” the report states.
The report details that from radar recordings and eyewitness accounts, the helicopter was under normal control and performing a series of deliberate, intentional manoeuvres. There was no evidence that improper use was made of the controls or that the flight was erratic in any way.
The report adds, “The helicopter had made one descent, prior to the accident descent and it is considered likely that the instructor was demonstrating the advanced autorotation technique during the initial descent.
“While impact evidence suggests that the instructor was at the controls at the time of impact, this is not definitive proof that he was controlling the helicopter just prior to impact. The instructor may have been flying the transition away or it may be that the student performed the transition away but the inspector took control just prior to or during the impact.
“As such, the investigation cannot definitively identify who was controlling the helicopter on the second and final descent and during the transition away towards the cables.”
Mr Sheridan had commenced flight training on June 7, 2008 and at the time of the accident, had accumulated a total of 18 hours 20 minutes of flying time, all of which was conducted with the Flight Training Organisation on the Schweizer 269C.
He had made three solo flights between August 14, 2008 and October 12, 2008 and prior to the fatal flight had flown with Mr Clancy on three occasions.