Occurrence
On 24 May 2015, a Cessna T.182T Turbo Skylane, registered N247P, departed Ballyboy Airfield, Co. Meath, at approximately 09:00 hrs. The purpose of the flight was to attend a fly-in at a private airfield near Taghmon, Co. Wexford. The pilot regularly brought two dogs on trips, and both dogs accompanied him on this flight. A witness at the departure airfield saw the dogs being placed in their customary position behind the rear cabin seats.
Following departure, the flight proceeded in a southerly direction towards Athy, Co. Kildare, before taking up a south-easterly course towards the intended destination at Taghmon. This course brought the aircraft to the south of Mount Leinster and towards rising terrain south of the summit of Blackstairs Mountain. Radar returns displayed the general Visual Flight Rules (VFR) code of 7000, indicating the flight was operating under VFR. No flight plan was filed, nor was one required as the aircraft operated entirely in Class G airspace. No communications were recorded with any Air Traffic Control unit, and no en-route airfield reported receiving a call from the aircraft.
Aircraft and Recorded Data
The aircraft was a 2004 Cessna T.182T Turbo Skylane, serial number T18208280, registered in the USA and based at Ballyboy Airfield. It was powered by a turbo-charged, fuel-injected Lycoming TIO-540-AK1A engine driving a three-blade constant-speed propeller. The aircraft was equipped with a Garmin G1000 navigation system with two electronic flight displays, a flight director, and an autopilot. A portable Garmin 295 GPS unit was also installed.
An SD card believed to be the flight data logging card from the Garmin G1000 was recovered damaged; the investigation is seeking technical assistance to recover data. The Garmin 295 GPS unit, though damaged, was successfully downloaded at the UK AAIB. The recorded data points show that, following a turn at Athy, a direct track was being followed towards the planned destination. The data indicates that when the aircraft was 8 nautical miles south of Carlow Town at 09:25:42 hrs, a shallow climb commenced. The last track data point was recorded at 09:30:05 hrs, with a calculated groundspeed of 135 knots.
Radar data shows the aircraft first appeared at 09:00 hrs passing 900 ft in a climb. The aircraft then levelled at 1,600 ft and tracked southerly past Enfield, Clonbullogue Airfield, Kilrush Airfield, and Athy. Approaching Athy, the aircraft turned left towards Taghmon and proceeded over Carlow Town. Radar contact was lost at 09:20 hrs due to terrain masking at a position 43 NM north of Waterford Airport. The aircraft reappeared at 09:28 hrs at 2,100 ft in a shallow climb. The final radar return showed the aircraft at an altitude of 2,300 ft, with an indicated airspeed of 120 knots, on a magnetic heading of 169°.
Site and Wreckage Examination
The accident site was located on a steep rocky slope on the western side of a ridge extending south-west from the summit of Blackstairs Mountain, peak elevation 733 m. The aircraft impacted at an elevation of approximately 2,150 ft. Ground scars at the initial impact point indicate the aircraft attitude was approximately wings level and slightly nose up. The wreckage fanned out from the initial impact point into the rising terrain. The main portions of the aircraft structure came to rest approximately 110 m from the initial impact point on a magnetic heading of approximately 170°. Propeller blades, engine accessories, cabin contents, and undercarriage components were found between the initial impact point and the main wreckage, which comprised the wings, cabin structure, and empennage. The engine was found approximately 130 m downhill from the main wreckage site. Initial indications are that the engine was providing power at the time of impact. The wreckage was recovered with assistance from the Irish Air Corps and transported to the AAIU facility for further examination.
Weather Information
Met Éireann provided an aftercast valid for 10:00 hrs on 24 May 2015. The area was under the influence of a moderate NNW airflow with slight ridging from the Azores High. Surface wind was 340 degrees at 10 knots, and at 2,000 ft was 360 degrees at 28 knots. Visibility was 10+ km but with a risk of localised 100 m above 1,000 ft. There was nil weather but a risk of fog above 1,000 ft and a risk of broken cloud at 100 ft above 1,000 ft. The atmosphere up to 925 hPa was absolutely unstable with a lapse rate of approximately 3°C per 1,000 ft, leading to a risk of poor visibility and cloud conditions above 1,000 ft. A SIGMET was in operation for mountain wave activity with maximum vertical speed of 700 fpm above 9,000 ft.
An automatic weather station at Oakpark, Co. Carlow, recorded cloud-base heights of 100-200 m at 08:00 hrs, 300-600 m at 09:00 hrs, and 600-1000 m at 10:00 hrs. Other pilots attending the fly-in described weather conditions in the vicinity of Blackstairs Mountain around the time of the accident as 'mist' and 'drizzle' with a cloud ceiling between 800 and 1,000 ft above mean sea level. Persons living or walking in the area reported that the upper portion of the mountain was obscured by what was variously described as 'drizzle', 'rain', and 'low cloud'.