Vol. 488 No. 7
110 Ms Cooper-Flynn asked the Minister for Defence the reason an Army helicopter was flying low at Ballynew outside Castlebar, County Mayo on 29 January 1998 at approximately 3 p.m. in view of the fact that this activity frightened and injured cattle in a field in the area. [7340/98]
Air Corps helicopters regularly operate in the Castlebar area in the conduct of search and rescue and air ambulance missions. On the date in question, an Air Corps Dauphin helicopter, based at Finner, County Donegal, was carrying out essential search and rescue training exercises in the north Mayo area. The weather conditions during that afternoon were particularly poor, requiring the aircraft to operate at a relatively low level. It is Air Corps practice, where low level flying is necessitated, that every effort is made by the crew to avoid causing upset to the public or livestock. The Air Corps was unaware that any such upset had occurred on the date in question.
It will be appreciated that the Air Corps is not the only helicopter operator in the State. In order to confirm whether an Air Corps helicopter was involved, a positive identification of the aircract type and number-registration would be required.
