Approximately three minutes after take-off from Dublin Airport (EIDW), Ireland, on a scheduled passenger flight to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (EHAM), The Netherlands, the First Officer, who was the Pilot Flying, became incapacitated. The aircraft Commander took over all flying duties and requested assistance for the First Officer from the Cabin Attendants. He also transmitted a MAYDAY (state of emergency) to Dublin Air Traffic Control and requested clearance for the aircraft to return to EIDW, where a normal landing was performed. Medical assistance was provided to the First Officer on arrival. All passengers disembarked the aircraft normally. No injuries were reported to the Investigation.

The Robinson R44 Raven II Helicopter departed from a private site at Ballygarrett, Co. Wexford at approximately 14:32 hrs on 11 December 2022 and flew to another private site at Tagoat, also in Co. Wexford. The Helicopter departed Tagoat at approximately 14:58 hrs for a flight to Kilrush Airfield (EIKH) and followed a north-westerly track towards EIKH. When the Helicopter was approximately 0.7 nautical miles (NM) to the south-west of EIKH and at an altitude of approximately 1,800 feet (ft), it turned right (north-east). It continued past EIKH and remained on a north-easterly track for a further 8.3 NM approximately, before turning back towards the south-west. Then, for a number of minutes, the Helicopter flew back-and-forth in the Kennycourt area, which is approximately 7 NM north-east of EIKH, before impacting with terrain near Kennycourt at approximately 15:45 hrs. The Helicopter was destroyed due to the impact and a post-crash fire. The Pilot, who was the sole occupant, was fatally injured.

The Investigation determined that the probable cause of the accident was a loss of control due to spatial disorientation following a loss of external visual references during an attempted or aborted descent in sub-optimal visibility conditions. The contributory causes were determined to be plan continuation bias when the flight was continued in meteorological conditions in which visual contact with the surface was deteriorating, and possible increasing pressure to land, or get to EIKH, due to a decreasing fuel quantity.

One Safety Recommendation is made as a result of this Safety Investigation.

Please see the below Preliminary Report.

NOTE: This Preliminary Report contains information, as known at this time, and does not contain analysis or conclusions. This information is therefore subject to change and may subsequently be found to contain errors; any errors in this Report will be corrected in the Final Report.

Following take-off from Runway 19 at Limetree Airfield, when the Raj Hamsa X Air aircraft was at 50 to 60 ft above the terrain of a hill on the take-off path, the engine ‘coughed’ several times and the aircraft lost height. An emergency landing was carried out into an agricultural field which resulted in substantial damage to the aircraft. The passenger was injured. There was no fire. The engine power interruption was subsequently determined to be due to a cold seizure in the engine’s front cylinder and a loss of clearance in the rear cylinder.

During the cruise phase of a scheduled passenger flight between Newark and Zurich, the right engine of the Boeing 767-322ER aircraft surged several times. Due to abnormal indications on several engine instruments, the Flight Crew believed that the engine had been severely damaged. They completed the ‘Severe Damage’ checklist and shut down the engine. The Flight Crew made a MAYDAY transmission and diverted to the nearest suitable airport which was Shannon (EINN). The aircraft landed safely and was escorted to a parking stand by the Shannon Airport Fire and Rescue Services. The passengers and crew disembarked normally, and no injuries were reported to the Investigation. There was no fire.

During take-off from Runway 18 at Birr Airfield (EIBR), the Instructor who occupied the right-hand seat, noticed that the aircraft was not accelerating as expected and that the engine sounded quieter than usual. As the aircraft proceeded down the runway, the Instructor observed that the engine was not developing full power and he instructed the Pilot, who occupied the left-hand seat, to abandon the take-off.

The Pilot closed the throttle and both crew members applied the brakes. The aircraft over-ran the end of the runway and impacted with a boundary hedge, sustaining minor damage. No injuries were reported. There was no fire.

The twin-engine Vulcanair P.68 Observer 2 aircraft was located on the apron area at Weston Airport and was being prepared for an aerial survey flight. The Pilot was in the cockpit, and a Task Specialist, whose role was to operate the on-board aerial survey mission equipment, was in the cabin area. The Pilot started both engines, and while the aircraft was stationary on the apron, he switched on the electrical power supply for the mission equipment as requested by the Task Specialist. Electrical arcing and smoke began to emanate from the mission equipment’s electrical power supply cable. The Pilot shut down the engines, turned off all electrical power, and both he and the Task Specialist exited the aircraft normally. No injuries were reported to the Investigation.

The Investigation determined that the probable cause of the occurrence was mechanical damage to the mission equipment power supply cable as a result of being caught in part of the mission equipment, leading to electrical short circuiting, heating, and arcing. One Safety Recommendation is made as a result of this Investigation.

The Boeing 767 aircraft departed from Dulles International Airport (KIAD) in the United States at approximately 22:21 hrs on 6 April 2022, on a scheduled passenger flight to Zurich Airport (LSZH) in Switzerland. At approximately 04:13 hrs, when the aircraft was at Flight Level 360 and located approximately 20 nautical miles off the south coast of Ireland, the Flight Crew contacted Shannon Air Traffic Control (ATC) to declare an ‘emergency’, stating that they wished to divert to Shannon Airport (EINN) as they needed to shut down an engine due to low oil pressure. ATC cleared the aircraft to EINN, where it landed at approximately 04:40 hrs with the No. 1 engine shut down.

When the aircraft was taxiing towards its parking stand, the Airport Fire and Rescue Service noticed a fire at the left-hand undercarriage and requested (via the Shannon Ground Movements Controller) the aircraft to stop. The aircraft stopped and while the fire was being extinguished, the Airport Fire and Rescue Service requested (via the Shannon Ground Movements Controller) that the aircraft be evacuated on the right-hand side. Moments later, the request was cancelled, as the fire had been extinguished. The aircraft was subsequently towed onto its parking stand and all passengers and crew disembarked the aircraft normally. No injuries were reported to the Investigation.

The low oil pressure on the No. 1 engine was subsequently found to have been due to an oil leak from the engine’s No. 4 bearing scavenge line magnetic chip detector, which had been inspected as part of scheduled maintenance conducted prior to the flight. The probable cause of the brief fire at the left-hand undercarriage was heat from the brake units and the presence of lubrication grease or oil that had leaked from the No. 1 engine.

During a crosswind landing on Runway 27 at Navan Airfield (EIHH), the trailing arm of the aircraft’s left main landing gear fractured. The aircraft veered to the left and its left main wheel entered longer grass to the side of the grass runway. As the aircraft decelerated, the left wing dropped, and its lower surface contacted the longer grass. The aircraft turned further to the left and came to rest adjacent to the left side of the runway. The Pilot and the one passenger on board exited the aircraft normally. There was no fire. No injuries were reported to the Investigation.

While flying at an altitude of approximately 2,500 feet, north-east of Gorey, Co. Wexford, with a student and instructor on board, the instructor observed hot engine oil flowing from the instrument panel of the Cessna 150M aircraft, and that the engine oil pressure gauge had no pressure indication. A precautionary landing was completed into an agricultural field. The occupants evacuated the aircraft unaided. Subsequently, it was identified that an unapproved repair had been carried out on the engine oil pressure gauge supply pipe, and that this repair had failed. There were no injuries or fire.