Air crash passenger fights for his life as tributes paid to pilot
Markus Casey: died instantly after Beechcraft plane crashed
A passenger critically injured in an air crash on Sunday was fighting for his life last night as tributes were paid to the pilot of the plane, who died.
John Dunphy, in his fifties and a senior engineer with Wicklow County Council, sustained trauma impact injuries when the light aircraft crashed into a field, near Kilmovee, Co Roscommon.
Mr Dunphy, from Deansgrange in Dublin, was rushed to Mayo General Hospital in Castlebar -- where a spokesperson described his condition yesterday as "seriously ill".
The pilot and owner of the Beechcraft 77 two-seater aircraft, Markus Casey (51) of Dr Mannix Road, Salthill, Galway was killed instantly.
Mr Casey was very well known in aviation circles and was formerly secretary of the Galway Flying Club. He held a commercial pilot's licence and ran a light aircraft maintenance company, Shoreline Aviation (Ireland) in Knock.
Shocked members of the Galway flying club yesterday described Mr Casey as "a lovely guy" and an excellent pilot, and said he would be sadly missed.
A qualified archaeologist, Mr Casey carried out extensive work for local authorities involving aerial surveys for infrastructural projects.
He took off from Knock at 4.45pm on Sunday to fly with Mr Dunphy to Weston Aerodrome in Co Dublin, but the plane developed technical problems shortly after.
Chief Investigator with the Air Accident Investigation Unit, Jurgen White, said yesterday the pilot had indicated to air-traffic control that he was in difficulty shortly after take-off from Knock.
Local woman Maura Murphy, who lives alongside the crash site at Cloonama, said she and her husband were shocked to discover that a plane had crashed.
Mrs Murphy added: "We just heard a bang, which we thought was thunder and looked out and my husband said 'Oh my God, a plane has come down'.
"We both ran to the plane, and, at first sight, we thought that there was just one person, who was dead, but the passenger was alive. My husband kept talking to him until the paramedics arrived".
Air accident investigators will take the wreckage to Gormanston in Co Meath for further technical examination. In a statement yesterday, the board of Knock Airport said it had learned "with deep regret" of the death of Mr Casey.
Respect
Airport Managing Director, Liam Scollan said: "Markus had become a valued friend and colleague at the airport.
"He had won the respect of everyone for his professionalism, his tremendous knowledge and vision of private aviation, both in this country and abroad, and his warm, personable approach towards everyone he met. His friendly wave and calm good humour at all times were part of what made him special. He is sadly missed as a friend as well as a business colleague".
- Brian McDonald and Tom Shiel
