The quick action of an air traffic controller at Shannon prevented an aircraft crashing to the Kerry Mountains.
The corporate jet with flight crew and one passenger was en route from Kerry Airport to Luton when it suffered several navigational difficulties including a cracked windscreen which lead to a serious loss of situational awareness.
A report from the Air Accident Investigation Unit found that at one stage the Gulfstream plane was flying at just 213
metres – heading directly for mountains over 700 metres – just 10 kilometres away.
The unit’s report found there was confusion between the captain and his first officer and that first officer had only completed 1.4 hours’ flying in the previous 28 days and was ill-prepared to deal with the emergency.
The dangerous altitude of the aircraft was picked up by Shannon controller who then intervened to help the plane land safely.
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