A tragedy in which five family members died when a helicopter crashed at 2,000ft into a Snowdonia mountain was due to “sheer bad luck,” a coroner said today.

A conclusion of misadventure was recorded at an inquest at Caernarfon, Gwynedd. North West Wales senior coroner Dewi Pritchard Jones said :”This aircraft wasn’t greatly below its safe height. It just clipped the top of the mountain.”

The coroner made no recommendations following the tragedy.

Family members left without comment.

The Twin Squirrel helicopter was being flown from the Milton Keynes area to Weston airport near Dublin.

The coroner said it would have flown over some “fairly high” ridges in Snowdonia and come across thick cloud.

“Ideally because of the limitations of the pilot’s licence he probably should have turned back. But he carried on,” Mr Pritchard Jones declared.

“Unfortunately the vertical profile shows the aircraft descending to a height where it was virtually inevitable it would collide with one of the ridges in that area.”

It had been 300ft below the summit of remote 2,360ft Rhinog Fawr, a “very steep, rocky ridge” and the aircraft instruments wouldn’t have given the pilot much warning of the danger ahead.

“Flattish land” beforehand would have given him “false confidence,” the coroner explained.

An Air Accidents Investigation Branch report found the Twin Squirrel had descended to 2,060ft when it smashed into a rock outcrop on Rhinog Fawr, in a remote area between Trawsfynydd and Harlech.

The pilot had been experienced and no fault was found with the controls. The AAIB said the weather was a “significant factor” in the tragedy.

Investigators said the helicopter had flown into cloud at around 2,500ft but descended and hit Rhinog Fawr. The pilot didn’t turn away from the rising ground.

Mountain rescuers made the grim discovery of the wreckage in difficult terrain in March last year after a major search in atrocious weather.

At first it was thought the aircraft may have come down in the sea, but after no automatic beacon had been activated the hunt was switched to the mountains, with seven rescue teams taking part. Driving rain and low cloud reduced visibility to ten yards in places.

Those who died were brothers Barry Burke, 51, a property maintenance man, of Milton Keynes, Donald, 55, a property developer, and housewife Sharon, 48, of Bletchley, and Kevin, 56, and wife Ruth, 49, of Hulcote, both company directors.

At the controls was Kevin Burke.

The crash happened in strong winds and low cloud as the family party was on its way to a private site near Dublin to celebrate the confirmation of a niece.

They were identified by dental records.

Home Office pathologist Dr Brian Rodgers told the inquest :”They died instantaneously on impact. The impact was non-survivable.”

Ruth Burke was sitting in the front of the aircraft with her husband.

Paul Smith, involved in looking after the aircraft, said the helicopter was in very good condition although 25-26 years old.

Kevin Burke used it at least once a week.

Mr Smith saw members of the tragic family before the aircraft departed on its last flight.

“They said they were going to a surprise party in the Dublin area,” he recalled.

Inspector Craig Jones said North Wales police had been alerted by the coastguard to an overdue helicopter and a “major” incident was declared.

Mobile phone analysis suggested the last location would be around the Trawsfynydd area of Snowdonia but it was particularly wet and there was low cloud.

Off-duty police officer Richard Hughes, mountain biking in the Coed y Brenin area, not far from the crash site, had also seen a helicopter.

Mountain rescuers found a small amount of wreckage 100 metres below the summit of Rhinog Fawr.

“It was a scene of unbelievable devastation spread out over a couple of hundred square metres,“ Inspector Jones commented. “I was astounded at the spread and complete destruction of an aircraft.”

Air Accidents Investigation Branch investigator Paul Hannant told the inquest the crash happened around lunchtime. The helicopter was fully equipped to fly in cloud and the pilot “very experienced.”

The flight of more than 200 miles to south east of Dublin was due to take about two hours.

The helicopter was fully functioning. “There’s no suggestion anything had failed that may have caused the accident,” Mr Hannant declared. But there was poor weather with low cloud and turbulence once the aircraft reached the Welsh mountains.

The helicopter entered cloud while descending. “He didn’t see the mountain coming,” Mr Hannant said. “The aircraft should have turned around. Sadly it didn’t and struck the mountain.”