A Coast Guard radio officer has defended his decision to request a medical evacuation for an injured fisherman off the west coast on the night that the Irish Coast Guard Rescue 116 helicopter crashed with the loss of four lives.
All four crew- Capt Dara Fitzpatrick, Capt Mark Duffy, winch crew Paul Ormsby and Ciarán Smith – died when their Sikorsky S-92 helicopter crashed at Blackrock island in the early hours of March 14th, 2017.
The Dublin-based helicopter had been asked to provide “top cover” or communications for the Sligo-based Rescue 118 helicopter which was tasked to airlift a fisherman with an injured thumb from a vessel 140 km off the Mayo coast.
At a resumed inquest in Belmullet, Co Mayo, coroner Dr Eleanor Fitzgerald was told by Malin Head Coast Guard radio office Ian Scott that the casualty was bleeding out, in severe pain and had a section of his thumb amputated.
As RTÉ News reports, Mr Scott outlined how he had tried to secure top cover by the Air Corps and that he also "tried to get a Nimrod from the UK" but this was not available.
Rescue 116 was then asked to provide top cover and flew from Dublin. It was approaching Blacksod to refuel when it crashed at Blackrock island, west of Blacksod.
Mr Scott told the inquest that a doctor he had consulted did not object to his decision to take the injured crewman ashore.
He said he used his judgement, accrued over 42 years, and said “in my opinion the man needed off the vessel".
Mr Scott told the inquest he would make the same decision today.
Garda Supt Gary Walsh read a deposition from the captain of the Kings Cross fishing vessel, William Buchan, describing how crewman John James Strachan sustained a severed thumb when he was hauling in nets on the night of March 13th, when the vessel was 140 nautical miles west of Eagle Island.
Mr Buchan recalled hauling at about 9.15 pm on March 13th, 2017 after five or six hours on blue whiting. Mr Strachan’s hand got caught, and Mr Buchan managed to get his hand out of his glove but half of his thumb had been crushed and was inside the glove. He said they put the thumb top in the ship’s freezer.
Cork University emergency registrar Dr Mai Nguyen, who was consulted about the injury on the night of the call-out, told the inquest she felt the decision to task had been made before she was called. She described the injury as “minor”, and said she would not have sent the Irish Cost Guard as there was no hope of re-attaching the severed thumb and they were far from the coast.
A recording of calls between the Kings Cross vessel, Malin Coast Guard and Dr Nguyen confirmed this at the inquest.
After Dr Nguyen advised skipper, William Buchan on how to handle the casualty, she asked the radio officer if a “medevac” was being carried out and he said it was.
The inquest also heard that in the minutes before the Rescue 116 helicopter was due to land at Blacksod lighthouse helipad to refuel, visibility "dropped fast".
Lightkeeper Vincent Sweeney described how in the minutes before Rescue 116 was due to land to refuel, visibility "dropped fast", to the point that "you'd hardly see your arm in front of you".
The bodies of Captain Dara Fitzpatrick and Captain Mark Duffy were recovered after the crash, but winch operator Paul Ormsby and winchman Ciarán Smith are still missing in spite of extensive searches.
The inquest was formally opened in April 2018 but was adjourned - after a brief sitting and issue of death certificates - to allow for completion of the Air Accident Investigation Unit report and Garda investigations.
The Garda investigation was completed in April 2019 and a file was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions, but no prosecutions were recommended.
There were 42 recommendations in the 350-page Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) report - 19 applying to the air crew’s employer, CHC Ireland, which holds the Irish Coast Guard contract for four helicopter search and rescue bases.
The AAIU report found the “probable” cause of the crash was a combination of poor weather, the helicopter’s altitude and the crew being unaware of a 282 ft obstacle – as in Blackrock island – on a pre-programmed route guide to Blacksod.
Read the RTÉ News report here