Mr. Diarmuid Ó Conghaile:

I thank the Deputy. First, it is a pleasure to be here to have the opportunity to meet the committee.

Most important, we offer our condolences again to the friends and loved ones of the four crew members who tragically lost their lives in the R116 accident. The Air Accident Investigation Unit, AAIU, has produced a comprehensive, independent and exemplary piece of work which is several hundred pages long. We welcomed the publication of that report. There are 42 recommendations in it in total. Five of those are addressed to the IAA. We fully accept the recommendations and are making progress in the implementation of those recommendations. We will, of course, update the AAIU on our progress over the course of the next number of weeks.

In regard to maps, it is a complex enough area to summarise and there have been some confusing statements about it. I would ask the Deputy to consider two different types of charts. There is one set of charts which are produced by the IAA on behalf of the State. These are visual flight rules, VFR, charts. These are charts that are intended for use in visual flying conditions. These charts specify safe altitude minima for different sectors of airspace. Those charts are provided by the IAA in compliance with International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO, requirements for these specific VFR charts. The charts provided by the IAA are accurate. The charts provided at the time of the accident included Blackrock - that obstacle. The chart was accurate as to its location and its characteristics and that is reflected in the AAIU report. Those are the charts that it is the obligation of the State to provide.

Within the cockpit - one will remember this was not visual flight rules as this was in the middle of the night and there was poor visibility - the aircraft has other navigational aids which the crew relies on. These aids are provided by third parties and the obstacle, Blackrock, was not included in some of those third party databases.