KCLR NewsNews & Sport

Following training session over Carlow skies the Coastguard helicopter operators say they appreciate the understanding and support

CHC Ireland says it's aware of the noise generated but they have to train at night

The operators of the Coastguard helicopters say they appreciate the understanding and support of local communities in their training and operations.

It follows a training exercise in Carlow late on Wednesday night which had many locals questioning the timing with the Rescue 116 chopper circling the town shortly before midnight. (See here).

In a statement, CHC Ireland says its aware of the noise generated but the nature of its operations means they have to train at night for their Night Vision Imaging System (NVIS) flights.

It goes on to say that they will continue to mitigate the impact of these operations as much as possible through a number of measures; advising crews to minimise noise generated, vary flying routes & landing sites, introduce new NVIS landing sites and minimise night flights in June/July.