Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
Updated 4.40pm
SIX PEOPLE are confirmed dead following this morning’s crash involving a Manx Airline commuter plane at Cork Airport.
No names of the dead have yet been released. RTE is reporting that British, Irish and Spanish passport holders were on board the plane.
Tom O’Sullivan, communications officer with Cork County Council, confirmed that six other people were taken to hospital. None of them are critically injured.
Four of the six have serious injuries, and two were suffering soft tissue injuries, according to Dr Gerry McCarthy from Cork University Hospital. One of the survivors has been named as Donal Walsh, a graduate of Waterford Institute of Technology.
In an interview with RTE Radio’s News at One, he said he was hopeful they would all survive.
A total of 12 people were on board the flight – ten passengers and two pilots. There was heavy fog in the area at the time of the crash.
Eamonn Brennan of the IAA said the aircraft, a Fairchild Metor Liner with flight number BPS 7100, had departed Belfast at 12 minutes past 8, and would have been due in Cork at 9.10am.
There was a category 2 fog in the area at the time. He told RTE Radio that the plane tried to approach two other runways, before attempting a third approach on Runway 17. “It crashed on the Western side of the runway,” he said.
Visibility was very poor but all of the instruments were functioning properly, he added.
“It wouldn’t have been anything more than normal circumstances for Cork.”
A spokesman for the Dublin Airport Authority has confirmed that the emergency services are on the scene, and the Cork Airport Major Emergency Plan was activated at 10.18, and stood down at 11.04am. A total of eight ambulances and a number of fire engines were diverted to the scene.
The fire on the plane had been extinguished by 10.40am, but the plane is still upside down with its nose dug into the ground.
A statement from the Irish Aviation Authority said:
Flight Avia No FLT400C a metroliner SW4 with ten passengers and two crew has crashed at Cork Airport. No details of injuries or fatalities are available. The aircraft made an approach to Runway 17 in low vis conditions (Category 2) and went around and did not land and attempted a second landing on Runway 35. The aircraft then went around a second time and came back for an approach to Runway 17. On the second approach to Runway 17 the aircraft crashed adjacent to Taxiway C. Rescue and Fire crew are in attendance. There is a fire and debris has been scattered onto the runway and over a wide area. The accident will be investigated by the Air Accident Unit of the Dept. of Transport. This correct at this time and may be amended as more detail becomes available.
Photo via Alan C. OBrien
Cork Airport issued a statement at midday, saying that all casualties had been taken to Cork University Hospital.
Cork Airport can confirm that there was a crash this morning at Cork Airport involving an inbound Manx2 flight from Belfast to Cork, flight number NM7100. The plane was due to land at Cork Airport at 09:45 hours. The emergency services are on site. All casualties are being transferred to Cork University Hospital. Cork Airport is now closed and will be closed until further notice.
In a statement, the Dublin Airport Authority said that following the “very serious incident” passengers awaiting flights to and from Dublin and Cork Airport should contact their airline before coming to Dublin Airport.
Captain Michael McLoughlin of the pilots’ association, IALPA, said he couldn’t comment pending the investigations into the accident, but added:
We extend our sympathies to the families of anybody who was killed or injured in this morning’s accident.
The chief executive of Belfast City Airport Brian Ambrose said in a press conference his thoughts and prayers are with the families of those affected and that staff of Belfast airport would be liasing closely with families of those affected. He said the passenger list was now with the PSNI.
Bishop of Cork and Ross John Buckley is at Cork airport, where he is assisting the families.
Ryanair has expressed its deepest sympathy and has contacted Manx2, the IAA and Cork Airport Authority and Belfast City Airport to offer any assistance it can.
A casualty information bureau has been set up at the airport telephone number 021 4328820.
All passenger-related queries can be directed to Manx Airlines. Telephone: +44 2890427004
Additional reporting by Gav Reilly
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Retrofitting is only available to the people with plenty of cash . Same as most other benefits .
All I read in the above article is that we need to lower our living standards drastically. I do not trust anyone who tells me we need to eat less meat and then replace it with processed crap.
@An Drew Bearla: Yes, all that came out of the big meeting in Davos is that we must stop eating meat and dairy or the world will starve, and we must share our cars or cycle or walk, all the mullarkey Ryan is spouting and all from a bunch that then sat down to a four course meat laden lunch after flying in on 1500 private jets. The narrative to blame the ordinary consumer and deflect away from their lavish carbon laden lifestyles is ridiculous. Animal farm springs to mind
Will do this, will improve that. All talk and no action. The government has no motivation to implement any of these policies. Still using diesel commuter trains ffs.
@Tomo: We are making progress faster than ever before. I would live to speed it up too, but denial of what’s happening is nor helpful.
Bottom line is what comes out of our chimneys and out of the vehicle tailpipes isn’t good for us and has resulted in worse health for our population and more deaths. Even if you think climate change isn’t real (it is) then only a fool would continue to not tackle us poisoning ourselves.
@Barry Somers: a few more new taxes will sort everything.
That’s the problem, the greens solution is to tax the problem with no alternative. Of course, people are turning against it
@Jim Buckley Barrett: Not true.
@Nicholas McMurry: Yes it is true. Tax tax tax from a fella that knows about as much about climate change as my 8yr old. All the solutions Eamo is pushing for at present are financially or infrastructurally unviable like hydrogen which is inhibitively expensive to make or offshore wind which we have no way due to planning restrictions and lack of infrastructure make, but which are the chief objectives of E3G which ol Eamo is/was a senior associate of, as usual the self serving bull we have gotten used to in Irish politics. Any man that signs off on tax incentives for fuel for private jets and the writing off of carbon footprint for such is not green. No viable alternatives for anything, no reduction in our carbon footprint despite all the waffle, lying about our agricultural footprint throwing our farmers and food producers under a bus because they are a soft target while letting big corporations off the hook by giving them all our carbon credits from our grasslands, hedgegrows and forestry. Ireland is not one of the worst polluters as we are so often told to justify taxing the life out of us we just fall foul of the carbon credit rules that the large industrial countries set up to make themselves look far better than they really are, America, Germany France etc
@Nicholas McMurry: of course its true, if the government and greens in particular wanted to actually do something that wasn’t a punitive tax measure, it would be a shock.
Insulation is the most effective measure, yet they persist in making the retrofitting policy, part of the convoluted seai scheme which requires “trained” certified installers, when homeowners could, depending on their current skills learn to install it just as effectively themselves, by watching a few instructional videos, just like the “trained” installers did…
Subsidising insulation for domestic projects with a zero vat rate, would encourage more people to retrofit insulation to their homes themselves, reducing the amount of heating from all sources, along with particulate and carbon emissions across the board.
Better put the old age pension up. Where will all the food come from? More homes will be needed.
Anyone find those TRVs (main image) a complete waste of time?
I find that after a year the da*n thing is stuck on full heat. (I’ve checked the pin underneath and it seems to move freely) Was this just another way for the plumbers to make a few bucks :) ?
So, if we live in England or Wales and insulate our homes we could live for 836,000 years. I don’t want to live that long.
Why does an article in an Irish publication write about a foreign country without stipulating that it is a study done in that foreign country?
have your say