175 divers help weekend search for missing R116 crew

Anton McNulty

A WEEKEND of new intensive searches for the missing crew members of Rescue 116, which included 175 divers, failed to make any breakthroughs, but co-ordinators said the search will continue.
Weather conditions over the weekend made for ideal diving conditions, and divers from all over the country joined the Garda and Navy divers in searches around Blackrock Island for missing winchmen CiarΡn Smith and Paul Ormsby.
The dives followed extensive searches on Thursday and Friday of the cliff-faces of Blackrock Island involving Army mountaineers and Garda technical experts who undertook a ‘360-degree’ survey of the rock.
The two R116 crew members who have been missing since the Coast Guard Rescue helicopter crashed into the island on March 14.

Ceremony
An emotional wreath-laying ceremony took place at Blacksod Lighthouse on Sunday where Dr Orla Smith, sister of CiarΡn Smith paid tribute to all the rescue teams and the local community for their dedication and commitment to the rescue effort.
“I think there were 175 divers here in all this weekend from all over the country, along with Garda and Navy teams, supported by all the local fishermen, and we had the Army mountaineers and Garda on the island last week,” she said.
“So everything has been checked on that rock, nothing left unturned … what’s most important is that everyone is back safe,” she said.
In an emotional address she added, “Sometimes ‘thank you’ sounds too small”, but on this occasion “it isn’t big enough.”
A wreath of roses were laid on the lighthouse’s helipad where R116 was due to land to refuel before the tragic accident occurred at 12.46am on March 14. The ceremony was attended by divers, aircrew, fishermen, RNLI lifeboat members, the local Irish Coast Guard and Civil Defence volunteers, Gardaí and a large number of the local Blacksod community.

Search to continue
Since the accident occurred an extensive search involving a number of agencies has been taking place along the Mayo coast and as far north as Donegal. The body of senior pilot Captain Dara Fitzpatrick was discovered in the water around the island shortly after the accident occurred, while the body of Captain Mark Duffy was recovered from the cockpit on March 26.
The Achill Coast Guard unit revealed that they alone have completed 2,800 man hours searching for the missing crew of R116 and have used approximately a year’s worth of boat fuel in the past five weeks.  
In a statement released on their Facebook page, the unit thanked all who have taken part and helped in the search and vowed to continue as did Superintendent Tony Healy of Belmullet Garda station.
“We will be reviewing everything we have done so far to date so see if there are other areas that need to be explored,” he said. “This has been an extraordinary multi-agency and community effort so far.”

Criticism
Meanwhile the the Air Accident Investigation Unit has defended its decision to publish a transcript of the Rescue 116 helicopter’s final cockpit voice recording before it crashed. It comes after they were heavily criticised by the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA), the European Cockpit Association (ECA) and the Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association (IALPA).
The preliminary report found that R116 crashed into Blackrock Island at 12.46am on March 14 after the island was not included in the database of the helicopter’s warning system.
Captain Evan Cullen said IALPA believed there was “absolutely no justification for – or benefit from – publishing specifically the last two minutes of this flight, other than feeding a thirst for sensationalism.”
The AAIU said it was satisfied that it had ‘followed best international practice and national legislation regarding the issuance of the preliminary report’.
It said it briefed the families of the four crew before the preliminary report was released last Thursday night. Its final report is expected to take some months to complete.