Pilot dies in small plane crash in Republic of Ireland
The crash happened on an approach to Waterford airport
- Published
A pilot has died after a small aeroplane crashed in the Republic of Ireland.
It happened near Tramore in County Waterford, at about 12:50 local time on Thursday.
The pilot was in the plane alone, gardaí (Irish police) said.
Emergency service units, including Coast Guard Rescue 117, attended the scene, which happened on its approach to Waterford Airport.
The pilot's body was taken to University Hospital Waterford on Thursday night, Irish broadcaster RTÉ is reporting.
The broadcaster said the privately-owned Vulcanair P68C was flying between Sligo and Beziers, in France, when it turned around off the south coast of Ireland and headed back towards Waterford Airport.
The Air Accident Investigation Unit said it completed an initial examination of the scene on Thursday, adding that four inspectors would return to the site on Friday morning.
Time needed to establish cause
Speaking to RTÉ's Morning Ireland programme, an airport and safety auditor said it could take some time to establish the cause of the crash.
"The problem with the investigation in this case is the aircraft is too small to have a requirement for a cockpit voice recorder, so I don't think that'll be a factor, nor will there be a flight data recorder," retired Air Corps General Kevin Byrne said.
He added: "I have every faith that they will come up with some kind of a report within 30 days, and the final report then takes probably about a year, within which they'll have a final report on this."