Two men have died after a light aircraft crashed near Athy in Co Kildare last night.
One of the men is 70 and the other is in his 50s.
The light aircraft crashed in a field near at Belan near Athy.
The alarm was raised in the early hours of this morning when the men failed to return to the Kilrush airstrip where they had taken off from.
The Air Accident Investigation Unit has examined the crash site, and the wreckage has been removed from the scene.
Lead investigator Howard Hughes said: "Indications are there was no communication from the aircraft, nor would the pilot have been obliged to have done so.
"Kilrush airfield is situated in airspace where they do not have to make radio contact with any of the major air traffic control units around Ireland - so our understanding at this stage is there was no communication."
