An inquest into a plane crash at Inverin which claimed two lives has heard that the pilot would have found weather conditions “challenging”, neglected to weigh his passengers, and did not radio operations staff at the destination airport.
At yesterday’s West Galway Coronor’s Court questions were also raised regarding the ownership and lending of the Cessna Caravan which crashed during an attempted landing at Connemara Airport, Inverin, on July 5, 2007. The incident resulted in the death of its pilot Matt Masterson (59 ) from Terenure, Dublin, and a passenger Paul McNamee (57 ), an accountant from Loughrea, as well as seriously injuring seven other passengers.
The private flight was organised to demonstrate the capabilities of the Cessna Caravan to potential investors and interested parties associated with a proposed airport in Clifden and had been returning from Inis Meáin before it crashed at Connemara Airport at 1.49pm. A report by the Air Accident Investigation Unit, revealed the pilot would not have been aware of a change in wind direction and a “go-around” was attempted. The plane then turned to the left, hit a mound, and cartwheeled before being destroyed.
Captain Simon Myatt, an Aer Arann pilot with 30 years’ experience, told the court that the pilot of the Cessna, Mr Masterson, had already brought the first group of passengers out to the island but did not return because of concerns about the weather conditions. Mr Myatt said that he then piloted a aeroplane which was chartered to bring out the second group. He added that the weather did not cause concern for him but that it would have been “quite challenging” for a pilot who was unaccustomed to flying in that area.
The group later returned from a meeting at a hotel on the island and eight of them boarded the Cessna. The remainder went on the Aer Arann aircraft. Mr Myatt noted that the Cessna had taken a long time to get air borne as there was a change in wind direction. He then said that the pilot had made “no attempt” to weigh the passengers or to calculate the aircraft’s centre of gravity, an oversight which can affect the “take off run”.
The court then heard that no radio call was made by the Cessna pilot when taking off to let operational staff at Inverin know that the plane was en route. Mr Myatt attempted to make contact with the Cessna twice but there was no reply. After warning a nearby helicopter he then made contact himself with the airport staff to notify them.
A deposition by freelance aircraft maintenance engineer, Mr Alan Smith, was then read out. In it he said that he had known Mr Masterson for 10 years and that he had been a “competent” pilot. They both took the Cessna out on a test run to Inis Meáin that morning. Mr Smith said that when they returned to Inverin there had been more people in the group than expected and an Aer Arann plane had to be chartered to cater for the excess numbers.
Mr Smith, who had been sitting at the rear of the Cessna, said that on the return flight the plane had gained altitude and there was a bit of turbulence, however, he believed at this point conditions were good and that visibility was fine. When the plane flew over the coastline rocks it “dropped suddenly” causing a “loss of lift”. The stall warning light came on and only stopped after the pilot “applied power” and regained altitude. Then a wheel of the plane hit a rock and it rolled to the left. Mr Smith said that “there was no feeling of acceleration or deceleration”.
Under questioning Mr Smith revealed that he had been asked to prepare the presentation on the Cessna Caravan by Hennessy Aviation Ltd (owned by Mr Michael Hennessy ), a broker service to provide people with aircraft. He also revealed that Mr Courtney had lent the plane to Mr Hennessy to bring the clients out on a trial run in order to sell a new similar plane.
Enquiries into the ownership of the aircraft led to the mention of business man Mr David Courtney. A letter handed into Coroner Dr McLoughlin revealed that Lancton Taverns Ltd, owned by Mr Courtney, was the owner of the plane. Dr McLoughlin ordered that contact be made with Mr Courtney and Mr Hennessy and that they appear at the inquest as soon as they can, failure to do so could result in their being subpoened.
The inquest continues.
