Tag Archives: winchman Ciarán Smith
Fisherman in 42-day search for lost Rescue 116 crew will ‘never stop watching out’ for missing men
A fisherman who helped in the 42-day search for the lost helicopter crew of Rescue 116 said the coastal community will never stop searching for the remaining two missing men. A moving RTE documentary has chronicled how locals in Erris in North Mayo were at the heart of the search for the crew of the chopper which crashed into Blackrock Island. The bodies of Captain Mark Duffy and Captain Dara Fitzpatrick were recovered in the aftermath of the tragedy on March 14, 2017. But the remains of their colleagues, winchman Ciaran Smith and winch operator Paul Ormsby, remain lost at sea. Local fisherman Pat Walker said: “That day and every subsequent day since, every day we go to sea we still look out for these people. >click to read< 09:51
Rescue 116: ‘Anger doesn’t get you anywhere’ Father of pilot Dara Fitzpatrick shares frustration
The father of tragic pilot Dara Fitzpatrick has shared his frustration following the final report on the fatal Rescue 116 crash. The report outlined the series of failures which caused an Irish Coast Guard helicopter to smash into a Co Mayo island before plunging into the sea in March 2017. Captain Dara Fitpzatrick and three other crew members, Captain Mark Duffy, operator Paul Ormsby and winchman Ciarán Smith died in the early hours of 14 March 2017 when on a rescue mission. Captain Fitzpatrick and Captain Duffy’s bodies were recovered but Ormsby and Smith remain lost at sea. >click to read< – Rescue 116: From responding to a call about a minor fishing accident to utter devastation – >click to read< 09:01
