Crashed "copter removed to Gormanston base

A HELICOPTER that crashed in the Bog of Allen near Johnstownbridge, Enfield, on Wednesday evening of last week has been removed to the Gormanston base of the Air Accident Investigation Unit. The helicopter was not discovered until Thursday when family members became concerned about the whereabouts of its occupants. The two occupants, an instructor, Colm Clancy (34) from Donegal and his 24-year-old student, Dermot Sheridan, from Clare, died in the collision. The Schweizer helicopter came down in perfect weather conditions in the Bog of Allen on the Meath/Kildare border near the village of Johnstownbridge some time after 5pm after it left Weston Airport near Leixlip for the training flight. The pilot had at least two years" experience while the 24-year-old had been in the air on a number of previous occasions. The European Helicopter Academy, which is based in Weston Airport and operated the helicopter, said the Schweizer 300CBi is one of the most frequently used aircraft for helicopter training and has a very good safety record. It had passed a maintenance check on Tuesday of last week. The training flights usually take a hour or an hour and a half but the alarm wasn"t raised until Thursday morning because people didn"t realise anybody was missing, as this was the last flight of the day and there was nobody else back at the base, a spokesman said. A search led by the Coast Guard rescue helicopter discovered the wreckage in an isolated area of the Bog of Allen between Carbury and Enfield after midday when it was reported missing to the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) and the Garda.