The Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) has initiated an inquiry into the "selective" leaking of its draft report on the loss of four Air Corps crew in a Dauphin helicopter crash at Tramore, Co Waterford, last July.
The draft report was presented to relatives of the four airmen and to relevant Government ministers, senior military personnel, manufacturers of the helicopter and other associated parties over a month ago. The recipients were given 28 days to comment on the findings.
The documents were numbered, and recipients were bound by a confidentiality clause under AAIU regulations. However, a version of the report, which appeared to criticise Waterford Regional Airport for its role in the sequence of events, was published earlier this month in a Sunday newspaper.
It is believed that the investigation identified a series of possible causes including poor weather and human factors.
A spokesman for the Department of Public Enterprise, to which the AAIU is responsible, told The Irish Times that the leak had caused considerable upset to the bereaved relatives and to those involved in the investigation. "The AAIU is studying what happened, and there is extreme annoyance that confidentiality regulations appear to have been flouted," he said.
The leak highlighted the lack of an air traffic controller in the control tower at Waterford Airport at the time, and the dearth of adequate meteorological information on the night. Waterford Regional Airport has pointed out that there was no requirement to provide air traffic control for a mission which was under the direction of Air Corps ground crew, working with the Irish Coastguard.
Services at the airport are not highlighted as main contributory causes in the draft report, which found that the helicopter may have hit a sand dune in thick fog after a deliberate manual descent, pilot disorientation or distraction.
A claim that faulty approach lighting may have been a factor has been disputed by the airport, which has confirmed that a backup system for the lighting was activated during the night.
Lack of evidence is believed to have hampered the work of the AAIU as the Dauphin was virtually destroyed. Fuel contamination and mechanical failure are not thought to have been factors, but the suitability of the shortrange craft for this type of mission is questioned.
The crew - Capt Dave O'Flaherty (30), Capt Mick Baker (28), Sgt Pat Mooney (34) and Cpl Niall Byrne (24) - were responding to a call-out when a small pleasure craft was reported missing in Dungarvan Bay. It was their first emergency mission following activation of the search-and-rescue base for 24-hour duty by the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Dr Woods, on July 1st.
The helicopter remained at the scene after the pleasure craft had been located and placed under tow, and helped to guide the inshore lifeboat to shore in deteriorating visibility.
The draft report is understood to raise serious questions about the lack of adequate preparation for the extended search-and-rescue base.
No alternative return routes for the aircraft had been clearly identified in case of emergency, and no suitable accommodation had been arranged for the crew, who were staying in Dunmore East. A final version of the report is due to be published in the next few months.
