Efforts will be made in the coming days to recover the wreckage of the four-seater aircraft from the “hilly and remote” spot where it crashed in the Blackstairs Mountains on Sunday, killing the two men on board.
Bryan Keane (69) and Paul Smith (58), from Co Meath, died when their Cessna 172 crashed at Blackstairs Commons near Mount Leinster on the Carlow-Wexford border shortly before 2.40pm on Sunday.
The Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) said, depending on weather conditions, it would "endeavour to commence recovery of the aircraft wreckage in the coming days, while continuing to gather information regarding the event".
Salvage operation
The location of the crash site is not easily accessible, and there are no access roads near it. Investigators and recovery teams have been taken to the scene by
Rescue 117
, the Coast Guard helicopter based at Waterford Airport.
The South East Mountain Rescue Association has also been to the site. The salvage operation is being run out of the GAA clubhouse in Kiltealy.
Once recovered, the wreckage of the single-engine, fixed-wing aircraft will be examined, and an investigation will be carried out to establish the cause of the crash. It is expected to be some time before the investigation is completed.
The two men set off from Ballyboy Airfield, two miles northeast of Athboy, Co Meath, on Sunday afternoon in clear weather conditions. They were accompanied by their pet dogs.
A hillwalker reported the crash to gardaí after finding the wreckage, and a rescue operation was instigated.
Both bodies remained at the scene on Sunday night before being taken to University Hospital Waterford for postmortems.
Well-known locally
The men were from Athboy and were well-known locally. Mr Keane was chairman of the Athboy Credit Union.
The credit union said he had worked tirelessly for the good of the organisation over 20 years. “He will be remembered with great fondness, affection and respect,” it said.
It offered prayers for Mr Keane’s family. He is survived by his wife, five children and three grandchildren, as well as six siblings.
Mr Smith is survived by his wife, a son and daughter, three grandchildren and five siblings.
A family day planned for next Sunday in Ballyboy Airfield to raise funds for Down Syndrome Ireland has been cancelled as a mark of respect to the two men, who used the airfield regularly.
On its Facebook page, the airfield thanked the flying community for their support.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of those involved in Sunday’s tragedy,” the post said.
Condolences were also posted by members of the public, who described the deaths as a massive loss and said the men were “true gentlemen”, and would be “sadly missed”.
