Wreckage of the Cessna aircraft that crashed on Blackstairs Mountain last month. Pic: Dwane Doran.

A preliminary report into a plane crash on Blackstairs Mountain, which killed two men and two pet dogs on Sunday, May 24, has found ‘poor visibility and cloud on the day of the crash’ to be the cause of the tragedy.

Bryan Keane, (69) and Paul Smith, (58), both from Athboy, Co. Meath, and their two dogs, a German Shepard and a Golden Retriever, were aboard a Cessna 182 aircraft on their way to a private airfield near Taghmon when the crash occurred on the western side of the mountain.

Both men were described as “experienced pilots.”

The report said no communications was recorded with any Air Traffic Control (ATC) unit and no airfield reported receiving a call from the aircraft.

The accident site was located on a steep rocky slope about 2,405 feet up Blackstairs Mountain.

The investigation team found the wreckage fanning out from the initial crash site.

While the report states there was no general problems with cloud, visibility or weather, the atmosphere was described as “absolutely unstable” which would have led to a risk of poor visibility and cloud conditions above 1,000 feet due to condensation.

The report also states that other pilots attending the fly-in described the weather conditions in the vicinity of Blackstairs Mountain about the time of the accident as “mist” and “drizzle” with a cloud ceiling between 800 and 1,000 feet above mean sea level.

The last contact with Air Traffic Control was at 9.30 am. The wreckage was discovered by a man out hill-walking at Knockmullgurry at 4.30 pm.

The Coast Guard helicopter based at Waterford, Rescue 117, transported the emergency services personnel and investigators to the mountain top from a temporary headquarters set up in Kiltealy village.

Full report in The Wexford Echo Group of Newspapers.