Displaying items by tag: aircraft

3rd December 2015

Search for Missing Light Aircraft on the Irish Sea

An extensive search is being carried out off the coast of Blackpool for a small light aircraft that disappeared off radar on approach to the airport.

The call came into the UK Coastguard at around 0925 this morning (3 December 2015) to report the missing aircraft.

A search approximately three miles off shore is being carried out.

Lytham St Anne Coastguard Rescue Team, along with three RNLI lifeboats, two from Lytham St Anne’s and one from Blackpool are involved in the search.

The Coastguard search and rescue helicopter based at Caernarfon is also searching.

Matthew Mace, Duty Controller at the UK Coastguard said: ‘There are reports of low visibility in the area so there is a strong likelihood that this aircraft may have ditched into the sea after contact was lost and it disappeared from the radar. We currently have a helicopter and several Coastguard teams out searching for this aircraft.’

The search remains ongoing.

Published in Coastguard

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Air Corps Patrol Assists in Rescue of Injured Fisherman

#RESCUE - The Irish Times reports that an Air Corps maritime patrol aircraft joined a search and rescue mission to evacuate a fisherman off the West Cork coast today.

The Casa CN 235 - one of two operated by the Air Corps - diverted from its daily patrol to provide a communications relay in the operation to rescue an injured crewman from a Spanish fishing boat some 100 miles south of of Castletownbere.

The fisherman was airlifted by an Irish Coast Guard helicopter which at last report was taking him to medical attention in Cork.

Published in Rescue

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Forty Foot Swimming Spot on Dublin Bay

The 'Forty Foot' is a rocky outcrop located at the southern tip of Dublin Bay at Sandycove, County Dublin from which people have been swimming in the Irish Sea all year round for 300 years or more. It is popular because it is one of few spots between Dublin city and Greystones in County Wicklow that allows for swimming at all stages of the tide, subject to the sea state.

Forty Foot History

Traditionally, the bathing spot was exclusively a men's bathing spot and the gentlemen's swimming club was established to help conserve the area.

Owing to its relative isolation and gender-specific nature it became a popular spot for nudists, but in the 1970s, during the women's liberation movement, a group of female equal-rights activists plunged into the waters and now it is also open to everyone and it is in the control of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.

Many people believe that swimming in extremely cold water is healthy and good for the immune system.

Is it safe to swim at the Forty Foot?

The Forty-Foot is a great place to swim because there is always enough water to get a dip but like all sea swimming, there are always hazards you need to be aware of. For example, a lot of people like to dive into to the pool at the Forty-foot but there are submerged rocks that can be hazardous especially at low water. The Council have erected signs to warn people of the underwater dangers. Other hazards include slippy granite cut stone steps that can often be covered with seaweed and of course marine wildlife including jellyfish that make their presence felt in the summer months as do an inquisitive nearby Sandycove seal colony.