A retired Lieutenant Colonel with the Air Corps has described a helicopter door falling into the grounds of a secondary school in Dublin yesterday as “a most fortunate and unfortunate incident”.

A retired Lieutenant Colonel with the Air Corps has described a helicopter door falling into the grounds of a secondary school in Dublin yesterday as “a most fortunate and unfortunate incident”.
The helicopter, part of the emergency air service, was on its way back to Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnell when the rear door came off and and fell into Moyle Park College in Clondalkin. 
Speaking on Morning Ireland, retired Lt Col Kevin Byrne said it was lucky the door fell on to the ground without making contact with a person or building, meaning there were no injuries. 
He said the door fluttered to the ground like “a sycamore leaf” because it’s quite light. 
Mr Byrne is not certain what height the helicopter was flying at and said the vehicle landed without the door which would have been an emergency in its own right. 
He said there would be a very important incident investigation being carried out into it and the door, which has been recovered, would be “an important part” of that investigation.