Man who died in helicopter crash in Swiss alps had Kildare links

An Irish man (34) who was among three people who died in a helicopter crash in the Alps on Tuesday had Kildare connections. 

James Goff from Co Wicklow, pilot Jerome Lovey and ski guide Adam George were killed when a Air-Glaciers B3 helicopter was hit by an avalanche while on the summit of the Petit Combin mountain in southern Switzerland.

They were due to go “heli-skiing”, which involves being dropped off by a helicopter at the top of a mountain.

The helicopter was carried away off a steep slope and plunged 500 metres down the mountain before coming to a stop. Three passengers survived the fall: Edward Courage and brothers Teddy and Guy Hitchens.

The Irish Times reports that James, also known as Jimmy, is the son of Robert and Sheelagh Goff – the owners of the 19th-century Ballinacor Estate in Rathdrum, Co Wicklow.

Robert Goff is part of the well-known Goff family that owned the auction house for horses in Co Kildare.

A qualified ski instructor, Mr Goff worked for the United Nations as a project development and reporting officer.

He had begun his career as an intern with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in San Francisco 10 years ago.