Search and Rescue: True Stories of Irish Air–Sea Rescues and the Loss of R116 - Softcover

Siggins, Lorna

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1785373579 ISBN 13: 9781785373572

Publisher: Merrion Press, 2022

Synopsis

On 13 March 2017, the Rescue 116 crew of Capt. Dara Fitzpatrick, Capt. Mark Duffy, Paul Ormsby and Ciarán Smith took off from Dublin airport just after 11 p.m. for a medical evacuation off the west coast of Ireland. The first indication of disaster came when the crew failed to answer a radio call at 12.46 a.m. Shortly after 2am on 14 March, sister helicopter Rescue 118 spotted a casualty and debris in the water. There would be no survivors from R116, and extensive searches failed to locate the bodies of two of the four crew.

The crash occurred just six months after the loss of experienced Irish Coast Guard volunteer Caitríona Lucas, from Doolin Coast Guard in Co. Clare, and eighteen years after the loss of four Air Corps crew who were returning from a night rescue in thick fog off the south-east coast.

In Search and Rescue, Lorna Siggins exposes the shocking systemic flaws that led to these tragic deaths, but also looks at successful rescues where, despite all the odds, the courage and dedication of members of the Irish Coast Guard, Air Corps, RNLI, fishing crew and the volunteers who work with them have saved countless lives.

About this title

About the Author

Lorna Siggins is a former Irish Times journalist and has been reporting from the west coast for over twenty years, focusing on marine affairs. She has reported from the first successful Irish expedition to Mount Everest, from Antarctica, from the African and south American continents, and is author of several books, including a previous history of Irish air-sea rescues.

Edition details

• Publisher: Merrion Press
• Publication date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1785373579
• ISBN 13: 9781785373572
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336