First Day of Service

Irish Coastguard Helicopter
The Irish Coastguard has begun rolling out their new helicopter fleet. The first helicopter is based in Shannon and formally entered service last Saturday. The new helicopters [there will be 5 in all] are Sikorsky S-92As, which will replace the existing fleet of Sikorsky S-61Ns [pictured here – both it and the one above taken from my back garden]. Even on the first day of service, the helicopter was in action – the helicopter is pictured above arriving with an an injured man to the University Hospital in Galway [sadly, the man died of his injuries later in the week]. [thejournal.ie account of incident here].