Experts probe cause of crash
Irish, British and Spanish air accident investigators are to work together to establish the cause of the deadly Cork plane crash.
A team of experts from theDepartment of Transport were dispatched to the airport by helicopter shortly after the accident to examine the wreckage.
Along with a second unit they will forensically study radar records, air traffic control tapes, weather reports and the condition and operation of the aircraft.
They also recovered the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, known as the black box.
The investigators hope to have a preliminary report compiled within a month to identify the basic facts but the complete report might not be finished for up to two years.
Jurgen Whyte, senior inspector with Ireland’s Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU), said the plane had crashed, inverted and caught fire about 1,000ft down the runway.
“We have to review the air traffic control tapes. We have to review the radar pictures and we have to spend a period of time analysing the information to determine what was actually happening,” he said.
“Of particular interest to us is recovery of the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder and hopefully when we recover that information and analyse it it will give us some indication of what was going on in the final moments.”
A second team from the British Air Accidents Investigation Branch will gather details on the state of the aircraft before it took off and fuel loads.
A team from the UK also travelled to Ireland to see the wreckage first hand.
The plane burst into flames after the impact and flipped over, ending up on its roof. The fire did not spread into the body of the plane.
Airport bosses said the plane crashed at 9.52am and the fire, which began in an engine, was put out four minutes later.
The plane was built in 1992 and investigators will also examine whether age played a part by looking into the service history and mechanics of the plane.
