Man who died in Mayo plane crash named locally

The man who died when his plane crashed outside Ballina on Friday evening has been named locally as Michael McCarrick, an ESB employee, who lived at Belleek.

Mr McCarrick, who was in his late 50s, was killed instantly when his two-seater plane nosedived into a field at Breaffy, on the Bonninconlon side of Ballina.

The father-of-two had been on a pleasure spin in fine weather when the aircraft got into difficulties as he was heading towards the small airfield run by Lough Conn Flying Club at Cloghans, Ballina.

It is understood he told work colleagues that as it was a glorious evening he intended flying over to his native village, Cloonacool, Tubbercurry, and back again.

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However, his small plane got into difficulties on the return leg of the short journey.

Friends of Mr McCarrick’s describe him as a meticulous and careful aviator who never took any shortcuts as regards safety when flying or preparing to do so.

The remains have been taken to Mayo University Hospital, Castlebar, for a post mortem examination.

The wreckage of the plane has been taken to Gormanstown, Co Meath, for examination by technicians from the Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) who also visited the scene of the impact.