Alouette III -

[Silver]

When are the Alouette's due to be withdrwan from active service (or is there no specific date as yet) ?

And are there any plans to retain one/several for the museum and/or outdoor display?

(..or better still as an 'Historic Flight' display aircraft?!)

[202]

There is one in the museum already ... I think its the one that took a dunk in Lough Eske, Donegal, some years ago.

[Fouga]

Quote (202 @ 04 June 2006,22:01)

There is one in the museum already ... I think its the one that took a dunk in Lough Eske, Donegal, some years ago.

Didnt that happen at a wedding? didnt it make the papers? I thought the one in the museum was the specially painted one for the 30yr anniversary?

[GoneToTheCanner]

Hi there
The Alouette, 202, crashed when trying to perch on a tiny pier, on the water boundary of a hotel property.It was said to be on a "body search". Quite how many corpses they expected to find at a wedding is beyond me.The wedding party were quite bemused and a little displeased, given the noise of an Alouette at close quarters.Much to their surprise, the aircraft rolled off the tiny pier and thrashed itself to pieces.The pilot managed to get out unscathed but the crewman suffered serious back injuries.Naturally, the incident was extensively video'd/photographed and the bride and groom had a wedding reception to remember, for all the wrong reasons . Consequently, the aircraft was struck off charge and now languishes, half-complete, in the Museum.
regards
GttC

[warthog]

sounds very lethal weaponesque,
...except maybe the donegal bit

[Tech Crew]

Gttc

Your version is not exactly accurate. The A111 was tasked with a Garda Coop mission and was due to pick up a Gard at the pier on lough Eske. The pilot attempted to land a couple of times on the pier and aborted each time. On the final attempt control of the ac was lost and it crashed into the water. The guard witnessed the crash and immediately went and bought a lotto ticket!!

The ac rolled over on its side but luckily was only in about 6 feet of water. Close by was much deeper water. The crewman, who couldn't swim and who sustained a seriuos back injury climbed onto the side of the ac whilst the pilot was able to swim to shore

some members of the wedding party went out in a rowing boat to aid the crewman. The Dauphin from Finner brought him to hosp. the wedding video captured the whole incident

[GoneToTheCanner]

Hi Tech Crew
The version of events I relayed I got from the crewman himself. He ended up lying on his back, on rocks which had burst thru the now-submerged door.There was water entering the cabin and the pilot had escaped by exiting via the left-hand front-door, as the pilot entry door was buckled and under water.You can imagine his state of mind to find himself where he was, alone, soaked and hurt! I was shown photos of the event and the site and quite frankly, it was a dumb thing to do, attempting to land on a tiny pier, which was smaller than the wheelbase of the Alouette, especially at a site where dozens of people had gathered.Imagine if a piece of rotor blade had gone into the wedding party.If there was that much urgency to pick up a Guard, they could have chosen a proper, flat landing site, well clear of civilians and water hazards. Incidentally, the crewman took a long time to recover from his injuries.
regards
GttC

[Tech Crew]

Gttc

I never said it wasn't a dumb thing to do. I also know the crewman and i was on duty that weekend so i must be losing my marbles if i can't remember correctly. Thats my recollection of events

[GoneToTheCanner]

Hi Tech
I agree with you and am sure your recollection is perfectly alright.This one just happened to be an Air Corps accident that was widely captured on video/camera and was a bit more embarrassing to the Don than usual.I hope that Guard won big!
regards
GttC

[pilatus]

the guard went an bought a lotto ticket?!how bizzare is that!when did this happen?i never heard anything about it!if you guys can give me a date il go and check the archives in the Letterkenny Library.they have every issue of the donegal democrat  newspaper electronically stored!il print it ,scan it onto my computer and post it here!thats if i can find anything on it!

anyway so does that make 6Alouettes left in service if the 30aniversary one is in the museam and the example that went for a swim is written off?

[Tech Crew]

Pilatus

The refernce to the guard and the lotto ticket was my obviously bad attempt at humor. The guard i'm sure thought all his xmas's had come together when the ac he was due to fly in crashed before his eyes whilst he was still on the ground. I think i'll stick to the facts in future!!!

I think the crash was in 94 or 95. Gttc might know the exact date. I'd be leaning towards 1995.The ac in the museum is A202 airframe but it has been fitted with the tailboom painted up for the 30 anniversary. The signatures of all the techies in the unit at that time are on it.

A202 was the only Allouette ever wrote off due to a crash even though plenty of others had prangs but were repaired.

After the crash new inspections on the blade spacing system and hydraulic dampers on the main rotor head were instigated as the " investigation" was told that vibes were felt before the crash. Nothing was ever found to be technically wrong with any part of the ac as far as i can remember

[pilatus]

sorry im as thick as a plank!it was still quite funny the lotto ticket thing!thanks il a have look on thursday and see can i get the article!

[GoneToTheCanner]

Hi all
Vibration? In a helicopter with a fully-articulated rotor head? perish the thought! '>  The Alouette fleet suffered many mishaps in it's time, some of which would have resulted in write-offs, in anybody else's military.The Alouettes survived (a) because of their Meccano construction, making them easy to rebuild and (B) the absolute refusal of the Bosses to allow an airframe off the fleet, knowing full well that there was no possibility of a replacement.
Sorry, am I being all bitter and twisted again.I'll go and lie down until the feeling wears off  
regards
GttC

[Shamrock145]

GttC

not bitter and twiseted at all, however, the 'bosses' may have had a point (appart from no cash), when you look at the rate of hull loss (with all due respects to those individuals lost and injured) from the establishment of the corps, it doesn't make for good reading.

Now I admit this is from a single source (and I don't know just how reliable it is) but of the 310 or so aircraft to serve in AC colours to date;

  42 crashed
  46 written off
   4 damaged beyond repair

92 aircraft from a total fleet of 310, near 30% hull loss rate (and not a single one in combat)

...145

[sealion]

Just a thought. With the EC135 and the AW139 confirmed as all green aircraft, is there any reason why the A3 could not end its life in green too? After all they have repainted other air corps aircraft for lesser reasons.