THE IRISH AIRLINE Pilots’ Association (IALPA) has said today that speculation into the causes behind today’s crash at Cork Airport is unhelpful at this point.
The IALPA said that it had concerns about “continuing speculation” about the tragic incident. A spokesperson said:
Until a full investigation can take place into the cause of the crash, speculation can be misleading, and hastily-drawn conclusions are not helpful at this particular time.
The Air Accident Investigation Unit are currently examining the scene.
It was confirmed this morning that the Manx2 aircraft had made two previous attempts to land at Cork Airport before it crashed on the third approach to the runway. Some aviation experts have said today that it would be more usual for a plane to divert to another airport after two failed attempts to land rather than try a third.
The tragic crash at Cork today is one of just a small handful of commercial aircraft disasters in Irish history.
The first commercial crash to occur on Irish soil was on 5 September 1954, when KLM Flight 633 ditched shortly after takeoff from Shannon Airport, killing 28 of the 56 people on board. An official investigation concluded that the accident was caused by an unexpected re-extension of the landing gear coupled with the captain’s inappropriate response.
Aer Lingus Flight 712 crashed off Tuskar Rock, in County Wexford, on 24 March 1968. Despite an investigation report being produced in 1970, a review being undertaken between 1998 and 2000, and an independent study being commissioned in 2000, the cause of the accident was never determined. All 57 passengers and 4 crew on board were killed.
The majority of the passengers were Irish (35), the remainder being Swiss (9), Belgian (6), British (5) and American (2).
On 23 June 1985, an Air India flight was bombed by Sikh extremists in Irish airspace and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. All 329 people on board were killed.
Most of those killed in the attack were Canadian citizens (270), the remainder being British (27), Indian (22), Soviet (3), Brazilian (2), American (2), Spanish (2), Finnish (1) and Argentine (1).
A total of 12 people were on board today’s Manx Airline flight; six people survived the crash, while six others were killed. One of the survivors has been named as a young man from Waterford, Donal Walsh.
Additional reporting by Susan Daly.
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