First Cork Plane Crash Victims Buried

The funerals of two of the Northern Ireland victims of the Cork air crash are due to be held later today.

Pat Cullinan, a 45-year-old senior partner with the international accountancy firm KPMG, is to be buried after requiem mass in St Patrick's Church in the village of Cranagh near Plumbridge in Co Tyrone.

Later the burial will also take place of Brendan McAleese, who was 39, and the General Manager of a laundry business. His funeral will be in St MacNissi's Church in Tannaghmore near Kells in Co Antrim.

Mr McAleese was a first cousin of the Irish President's husband, Martin McAleese.

Meanwhile, four of the passengers who survived the disaster and were seriously injured are still being treated in hospital as the wreckage of the Manx2 aircraft was moved from the runway to the Irish Department of Transport's Air Accident Investigation Centre at Gormanston in Co Meath.

The probe into the aircraft crash that claimed the lives of six people at Cork Airport last Thursday are hoping to have analysed the data from two flight recorders on board the aircraft by the end of this week.

Department of Transport Air Accident Investigation Unit member Paddy Judge said the team was examining the Flightline BCN Metroliner flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder.

Mr Judge explained that the Air Accident Investigation Unit has been in contact with the manufacturers of the recorders to obtain framing files to allow them match up the data on both recorders so that they can accurately say what happened.

The Flightline BCN 19-year-old Fairchild Metroliner was operating a scheduled service for Manx2.com airline from Belfast City Airport to Cork Airport when it crashed in thick fog on the main runway at Cork at 9.52am on Thursday, with six of the 12 people on board losing their lives.

Media reports suggested the aircraft flipped over after its right wing hit the main R17 runway at Cork Airport on approach.

(BMcC/GK)