1999 Tramore helicopter crash
Irish Air Corps for Irish Marine Emergency Service Eurocopter Dauphin · Controlled flight into terrain
From Waterford Airport (WAT) to an unrecorded destination
Event
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- Event fatalities
- 4 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 4
- Survivors
- 0
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- Unknown
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Military
Eurocopter Dauphin
- Aircraft type
- Eurocopter DAUPHIN
- Category
- Helicopter · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- DH248
- Onboard fatalities
- 4
- Route
- From Waterford Airport (WAT)To not recorded
Cause areas
- Personnel issues › Action/decision
- Personnel issues › Task performance
From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.
Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.
From the Wikipedia article
Shortly after midnight on 02 July 1999, a Eurocopter Dauphin search and rescue helicopter operated by the Irish Air Corps crashed into the sand dunes behind Tramore beach in County Waterford while returning from a mission. All four crew aboard were killed.
The helicopter was attempting to land at its base in nearby Waterford Airport, but was hampered by heavy fog.
Background
Thursday 1 July 1999 was the first day that a 24-hour helicopter search and rescue service was provided from Waterford Airport. The airport is located near the coast, just north of the large beach at Tramore. The Irish Air Corps was contracted to provide the service on behalf of the Irish Marine Emergency Service (IMES; now known as the Irish Coast Guard). The helicopter (callsign Rescue 111) was a Eurocopter AS365Fi Dauphin, which had flown in from the Air Corps base at Casement Aerodrome in County Dublin that morning with a crew of 7 on board - 4 flying crew and 3 technical crew.
After arrival at Waterford, the helicopter completed a publicity flight with a TV crew from RTÉ. Later that afternoon the helicopter completed a training flight at sea, and a brief reconnaissance of the landing facilities at Waterford Regional Hospital. The aircraft was washed down and refuelled, and the crew left for their overnight accommodation at 5:15pm.
The four flying crew members were aircraft commander Captain Dave O'Flaherty (age 30), co-pilot Captain Mick Baker (age 28), winch operator Sergeant Pat Mooney (age 34) and winchman Corporal Niall Byrne (age 25).
Investigation and cause
Investigation
Under Air Corps procedures, the helicopter was not fitted with a Flight Data Recorder or Cockpit Voice Recorder. The details of the accident were reconstructed based on radio transmissions and examination of the wreckage.
The helicopter impacted the top of the sand dunes, travelling at an estimated speed of 60-80 knots (111-148 km/h) and a heading of 130° (southeast). This is a typical approach speed for landing - below 70 knots the aircraft becomes less stable. The impact was roughly in line with a well-established coastal approach to the airport. The right hand rear door was not locked in either the opened or closed position, suggesting it was in the process of being closed at the time of impact. The radio altimeter "bugs", which are configurable minimum descent altitude warnings, had been set at 160 feet and 150 feet. The bulb for the bug which was set to 160 feet was recovered, and examination showed that it was illuminated at the time of impact. The top of the dune was 45 feet above sea level.
The conclusion of the investigation was that the crew were likely attempting an improvised variation of the established coastal approach, attempting to land on the beach at Tramore rather than at the airport. The intent was probably to approach the beach at a minimum safe altitude of around 200 feet and attempt to visually locate the beach. The rear crew may have had the sliding door open to help locate the beach.
The initial approach was headed northeast, but the impact was made while heading southeast. This suggests that the crew had failed to locate the beach and were closing the sliding door and turning right to perform a go-around. While turning, the helicopter descended below the bugged altitude and hit the sand dune. It could not be established why the aircraft went through the bugged height, which would have produced an audible and visual warning. The pilot may have gained a visual fix on the intended landing area, or may have become disorientated in the fog. By the time of the accident the crew had been on-duty for more than 16 hours which may have affected their performance.
Text from the Wikipedia article “1999 Tramore helicopter crash” (revision 1355031523, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article
Sources
Wikipedia article: 1999 Tramore helicopter crash
- Revision
- 1355031523 · 2026-05-19 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q116867546
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
- Record
- Wikipedia article "1999 Tramore helicopter crash" (page 72635875, revision 1355031523)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- Wikipedia article coordinates
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- operator named as an armed force or military unit in the infobox
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.