On 11 May 1999 during an operation in the ClareGalway region, the Garda air support unit helicopter which is piloted by Air Corps personnel inadvertently entered cloud. Contact was lost with the ground target, the mission was aborted and the helicopter proceeded to Shannon Airport.
The incident was the subject of an investigation carried out by the air accident investigation unit of the Department of Public Enterprise. A report was subsequently published and this included a number of recommendations, one of which was that the Air Corps should suspend GASU night operations in rural areas with immediate effect until an effective programme of extra night flying is completed by Air Corps GASU pilots. This recommendation was implemented.
To facilitate an effective programme of training which would not impinge on the ongoing GASU operation, I announced in February 2000 that a Squirrel helicopter was to be acquired for the Air Corps as soon as possible for the purpose of pilot training in connection with the operation of GASU.
Work began in the Department on the preparation of the tender documentation and on 22 May 2000, a request for tender for the supply of one used Squirrel AS 355F2 helicopter to the Department of Defence was issued.
The AS 355F2 helicopter was manufactured by Eurocopter in France between 1988 and 1995. As the Department ideally required a helicopter which would be backed up by the manufacturer from the point of view of warranties, maintenance and support, the tender documentation issued only to Eurocopter through their Irish agent Atron, who are based in Sandyford, Dublin 18. Eurocopter was not able to offer a suitable AS 355F2 helicopter which they could guarantee and support.
Discussions took place with the military authorities and the Air Corps and it was decided to attempt to acquire on the open market a used AS 355N helicopter, a later model of the F2 also manufactured by Eurocopter. The tender documentation was prepared and on 27 September 2000 a request for tender for the supply of one used AS 355N helicopter to the Department of Defence was issued to a total of 15 companies. The closing date for receipt of tenders was 12 October 2000.