Witnesses relive Cornamona air crash discovery

Date Published: 15-Oct-2009

Local witnesses to the air crash in Cornamona which claimed the lives of two young Air Corps pilots have spoken of their attempts to provide assistance when the craft came down.

john Kenny from Clonbur and Joe Walshe from Crimlin were the first to come upon the scene of the accident after the Pilatus-PC 9 got into difficulty and crashed in the Crimlin Valley at 5.50pm on Monday evening.

The pilots killed in the crash have been named as flight instructor, Capt Derek Furniss (32) from Rathfarnham in Dublin and trainee, Cadet David Jevins (22) from Glynn in Co. Wexford.

It is understood they were carrying out a routine training flight on a well-practiced route when the accident occurred.

Speaking to The Connacht Tribune, john Kenny said he had noticed the plane flying overhead for some time before he heard two loud bangs and realised it must have crashed.

“I had heard the plane a while before that, they seemed to be carrying out manoeuvres or something and then I heard two big bangs. I went to my neighbour, Joe Walshe and he had heard it too,” Mr Kenny recalled.

After putting a call through to the emergency services, the two neighbours decided to set out and search the mountainous area themselves, to see if they could be of assistance.

“We had a fair idea of where it had come down so we went off on a quad bike and then walked about a mile down into the Cremlin Valley. This was about five kilometres north of Cornamona Village.”

“It was complete wreckage and then we came upon the two bodies. There was no fire, but a lot of smoke and it was clear both the men were dead,” he said.

The…