A newly acquired Garda surveillance aircraft, a De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter Guardian 400, sustained minor damage after leaving the runway at Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel, west Dublin, on Thursday. The incident occurred during a training exercise, according to sources.
The aircraft, which entered service last year following the retirement of the previous Garda Air Support Unit plane, experienced the incident while landing in poor weather conditions. Part of the landing gear left the runway surface and travelled onto the grass, but the aircraft suffered no immediately apparent structural damage. A full assessment is underway to determine the extent of any potential issues before the plane is cleared for further flight.
The €7 million aircraft, outfitted with sophisticated surveillance equipment in Austria, is operated by two Irish Air Corps personnel, with a team of specialist gardaí onboard managing the surveillance technology. Its primary function is intelligence gathering and surveillance, operating at high altitudes to remain undetected from the ground, and capable of extended flight durations.
The Twin Otter replaced the Britten-Norman Defender 4000, which had been in service with the Garda Air Support Unit since 1997. The acquisition of the fresh aircraft was formally completed in December 2025, with operational deployment anticipated in the first half of 2026, as stated by a Garda spokesperson.
Open-source flight data indicates the aircraft took off from Shannon Airport at 2:07 PM on Thursday, travelling across the country before landing at Casement Aerodrome. Gardaí have been contacted for comment regarding the incident and the timeline for the aircraft’s return to service.
Casement Aerodrome, headquarters of the Irish Air Corps, is currently undergoing a €120 million expansion plan to accommodate the growing Air Corps fleet.
