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The McComic Legacy - Embuggerance through strict liability

Here we go the end of the GA industry is nigh, with the ambulance chasers sniffing around the strict liability Holy Grail...

Passenger sues over injuries, stress after NT crash

• Mitchell Bingemann
  
• The Australian
  
• March 4, 2016 12:00AM
  

A Cessna 210, similar to the one that crashed in the Northern Territory.

A passenger who survived a light aeroplane crash in the Northern Territory in 2014 is suing the aircraft’s operator and insurer for damages.

The crash happened on March 28, 2014, 50km west of the Numbulwar aerodrome, and involved a Cessna 210 aircraft, registered VH-HGZ, which was operated by charter service Catherine ­Aviation.

An Australian Transport Safety Bureau report into the incident found that the pilot had conducted daily inspections of the aircraft prior to flying and found no defects or abnormalities before its ill-fated flight.

About 11.30 CST, the aircraft departed Numbulwar on a climb to a planned cruising altitude of 4500 feet.

“When about 22 nautical miles west of Numbulwar, the passenger felt a bump and detected smoke emanating from the floor area beside the pilot,” the report said.

“The pilot broadcast a mayday on the common traffic advisory frequency, advising of an engine failure and that there were no roads in sight on which to conduct a forced landing, only trees.”

The pilot executed an emergency landing, skidded and hit two trees before stopping.

The ATSB concluded that a connecting rod appeared to have broken and separated from the crankshaft, resulting in a hole in the crankcase. This precipitated a catastrophic engine failure. The smoke entering the cockpit was likely to have been from burning oil.

The pilot and passenger were rescued about three hours later by a helicopter crew.

Both sustained serious injuries and the aircraft was destroyed. Due to memory loss incurred as a result of the accident, the pilot had limited recollection of the events.

But the passenger, who has enlisted Shine Lawyers to represent her, remembers the flight, which she says has since caused her stress and anxiety.

“Our client sustained fairly ­serious back injuries and injuries to her upper shoulder,’’ Shine Lawyers aviation law solicitor Thomas Janson said.

“She also suffers ongoing psychological injuries like post-traumatic disorder, anxiety and she has difficulty sleeping as well, which requires constant care from her partner.’’
The case falls under a strict liability scheme, which is governed by the Civil Aviation Carriers Liability Act.

“Because the flight was a charter operation — more or less a ­licence to transport people — it comes under strict liability,” Mr Janson said. “The best analogy is if you have a speeding fine.

“So it’s very hard for the ­defendant to disprove they are at fault even if they can allege that it was due to a manufacturing error or down to a defect in main­tenance.

“If it was a private operation, then liability would have to be proven. But because it’s a chartered flight, as in this case, then liability does not have to be ­proven.”
Damages under this legislation are capped at $725,000.

The case was filed yesterday in the Federal Court of Australia at the Sydney Registry.
The court will assess the economic loss of the passenger, the ­financial cost of care that is now required, and will also look at ­the effect of injuries on her.

   
Murky Mandarin & the Iron Ring will be rubbing their hands with glee - "The End is Nigh!"

MTF..P2