Cessna F150H, EI-AST: Clonkelly Upper, two miles from Birr airfield, County Offaly - Ireland

 

 Niall Doherty, Flight Instructor

 

Damien Deegan, Student Pilot 

 

The wreckage of the light aircraft that crashed in Clonkelly, outside Birr, Co Offaly, being loaded on to a trailer. Photograph: James Flynn/APX

Thursday, December 13, 2012 - 12:42 PM 

 The preliminary investigation into a plane crash in which two men died in Co Offaly last month has determined the aircraft had no technical defects.

Flight instructor Niall Doherty from Roscrea and student pilot Damien Deegan from Crinkle were killed when the Cessna light aircraft came down near Birr airfield on November 12.

The air accident investigations unit has found evidence the propeller was not rotating at the time of impact, and there was no substantial fuel deposit at the crash site.

The investigation will now focus on how much fuel was on board the aircraft. 

Source:    http://www.irishexaminer.com

Flight instructor and pupil killed as plane plunges into field:  http://www.independent.ie

Massachusetts Air National Guard conducts night fighter jet training over New Hampshire: Sightings reported around 11 p.m. Wednesday

MANCHESTER, N.H. —   Several people reported an unusual sighting in the Lake Sunapee region Wednesday night.

News 9 received several reports of a low-flying aircraft in the area around 11 p.m.

The 104th Fighter Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard confirmed it is conducting night fighter jet training this week in northern New England. The training concludes Thursday night.

"We do not want to alarm the residence around the local area that may be startled by the increase in aircraft activity during the evening hours. The evening missions are a critical part of our required reoccurring training," officials from Barnes Air National Guard Base said in a press release. "The night-training is required to ensure our pilots are ready to respond to any airborne threat in the Northeastern United States, at any time, in any condition."

They said the jets were over the New Hampshire skies Wednesday night.

A Massachusetts Air National Guard spokesman said the combination of the cold air and quiet night made the engines of the jets seem loud.

Officials said they were not sure whether there would be more training exercises over New Hampshire on Thursday night.

"We often do not have the luxury of advance notice, however, when we can prepare for training missions such as these, we will try to share as much information as we can," officials said in the press release.

http://www.wmur.com