[kellyhound]

The pilot of a helicopter involved in a dramatic crash into a canal-side pub has been placed under arrest as authorities investigate the harrowing incident.

A striking video footage recording captures the helicopter hovering mere feet above the Royal Canal in Ireland moments before part of its propeller made contact with the pub's structure, causing the tail to spin into the timber frame. Remarkably, both of the two individuals on board managed to escape the wreckage with only minor injuries.

Gardai, the Irish police, have taken the pilot into custody on suspicion of endangerment following the helicopter's collision with the Rustic Inn in Abbeyshrule, Co Longford. The incident occurred as the Gazelle aircraft struck the back of the pub.

Teddy and Betty McGoey, proprietors of the Rustic Inn, recounted their own narrow escape from the catastrophe. After hearing the helicopter hovering low overhead for a few minutes, they ventured into a back function room to investigate. The impact was sudden and catastrophic, blasting a 10-foot-wide hole in the wall, shattering a small window into pieces, and sending shards of glass flying. Mr. McGoey was struck below the eye, while his wife's glasses were blown off her face.

The arrested pilot, a man in his early 60s hailing from the UK, was apprehended at Dublin airport. The second individual on board was identified as David Bruton, an award-winning aerobatic pilot and the owner of Midland Aviation, situated at Abbeyshrule Aerodrome, approximately one mile from the crash site. The company has declined to provide further comment on the incident.

This dramatic accident unfolded around 9:15 pm on a Wednesday evening. The helicopter, registered as g-BXTH on the Isle of Man and listed under the Civil Aviation Authority with the owner recorded as Mannifest Live, was built in 1973 and had a permit to fly, set to expire the following month.

Video footage capturing the incident, which is currently under examination by the Irish Government's Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU), depicts the helicopter hovering just a few feet above the ground as it collides with a newly constructed section of accommodation added to the pub the previous year. In the CCTV footage, a third individual is seen relocating picnic tables from the spot where the helicopter initially approached the canal bank, moments before the pilot executed the ill-fated hover above the water. The helicopter eventually came to rest on its side along the narrow bank.

Ciaran Doyle, a 14-year-old from Aughnacliffe, Longford, who was in Abbeyshrule with his father, Padraic, recorded the moments leading up to the crash. Describing the impact as fast and noisy, he recounted the helicopter's trajectory from the back of the village, its descent towards the canal, and the subsequent tragic collision with the Rustic Inn. Promptly, he contacted the emergency services using his phone.

[FNAL]

Probable cockpit conversation:

Co-pilot: Seems a little tight, think we should land there?
Pilot: Hah, plenty of room, I've been closer before.
Co-pilot: Okay, I'll watch your tail
Pilot: No worries, I got this.
2 feet off the ground
Pilot: See, nothing to it.
2 seconds later

[dwizzy22]

What the hell were they doing? Popping in for quick pint.

[Kelseecat65]

Remember that Police helicopter that crashed into a pub in Glasgow a few years ago?

Weird. Both of them.

[horsecs]

Pretty exciting day on the river. Lucky residents.

[durt]

That was pretty fucking stupid
...I feel sorry for the gazelle

[dropkic]

Dumbass!