All Jumpers Has Exited The Plane Before It Went Down

The pilot of a skydiving plane in Ireland and the seven-year-old son of one of the skydivers who had already exited the airplane were fatally injured over the weekend when the plane went down in a boggy area in Co Offaly in central Ireland.

The website RTE reports that the Cessna Caravan took off from Clonbullogue Airfield about 2:30 p.m. local time with 16 skydivers on board. All 16 make their jump normally. Shortly after the skydivers exited the aircraft, it entered a steep dive and did not recover.

The pilot and the 7-year-old were the only ones still on board when the plane went down. It impacted terrain in a wooded boggy area near the Mountlucas wind farm between Edenderry and Daingean about 4.5 miles from the airport. Some of the airplane were thought to be buried in the bog as deep as 12 to 15 feet, according to the report.

The bodies of the pilot and the boy were recovered from the fuselage of the airplane.

RTE reports that the pilot was recognized as an experienced flight instructor.

(Image from file. Not accident airplane)

FMI: Original report