Aer Lingus to change flight number linked to 1968 Tuskar Rock disaster
William Cowhig holding a photograph of his father Michael who died in the 1968 Tuskar Rock plane crash. He contacted Aer Lingus to raise his concerns about the ongoing use of the flight number. Picture: Chani Anderson
The number of the Aer Lingus flight route between Cork and London Heathrow will be changed from this weekend after representation of one of the victims of the Tuskar Rock air disaster.
Aer Lingus Flight 712 crashed into the sea near Tuskar Rock off Wexford on March 24, 1968.
The Aer Lingus Viscount was on a flight between Cork and London Heathrow when it crashed.
All 57 passengers and four crew members died.
Just 14 bodies were found afterwards, including one who has not been identified to date and is buried in a Wexford cemetery.
The route has retained the same flight number since the air crash.
However, a spokeswoman for Aer Lingus said that the flight route will no longer be called EI 712 after Saturday, and will be subsequently called EI 714.
She confirmed that the move arose from contact received by a relative of one of the crash victims.
It comes ahead of a poignant ceremony at Shandon on Sunday in memory of those who lost their lives.
William Cowhig, whose father Michael was among the victims, said he contacted Aer Lingus after he became aware in Cork Airport last year that the flight number was still in use by the company.
He said: “When I was looking at the schedule of flights departing and arriving, I noticed that EI712 was still being used. I was a little taken aback. It was something that had never crossed my mind to check up on before.”
He then contacted the company to raise his concerns about its ongoing use.
He was just two-and-a-half years old when his father, a researcher at the then Agricultural Research Institute at Moorepark, Fermoy, lost his life in the crash.
His colleagues John Nyhan and Thomas Dwane also died.
They were travelling to the UK to share their research into milking machine practice at a conference.
On Sunday, they and the other victims will be recalled at the memorial event in St Anne’s Church in Shandon, Cork City, organised by Jerome McCormick, whose brother Neill was also among the victims.
Jerome said the event on Sunday will be the fifth one.
“We will be calling out the names, light a candle, and have an informal gathering to remember them.”
The event takes place at 11.30am.
The 57 passengers included 33 Irish, nine Swiss, six Belgian, five British, two Swedes, and two US citizens.
A report published in 2002 found that the crash may have been a result of structural failure of the aircraft, corrosion, metal fatigue, ‘flutter’ or a bird strike.
The possibility of the involvement of any other aircraft or missile was ruled out.
However, the cause of the crash remains a mystery.
It is only one of two fatal accidents for the airline, the other a 1952 flight from London to Dublin that crashed in Wales, killing all 23 onboard.
