A coronial inquest examining a catastrophic plane crash that killed all on board in Far North Queensland has heard the pilot was flying too low and too fast moments before impact.
Key points:
- Five men were killed when a charter flight crashed into sand dunes at Lockhart River in Cape York in March 2020
- An inquest in Cairns is examining pilot Stuart Weavell's training and the plane's safety measures
- The court heard the plane crashed on the second attempt to land
Five men, all from Cairns, died when the Cessna 404 Titan they were flying in hit sand dunes near the remote community of Lockhart River in Cape York.
Wayne Ganter, 63, Henry Roebig, 62, Wayne Brischke, 57, Mark Rawlings, 49, and pilot Stuart Weavell, 36, left Cairns Airport at 7:19am on March 11, 2020, to carry out work on a local school.
But the plane crashed on its second approach to the runway at the Lockhart River Airport at 9:19am.
An Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) report released last December found the plane was flying 300 metres lower than recommended and crashed on its second approach to the runway.
An image taken by a passenger moments before the crash, which formed part of the ATSB investigation, showed heavy clouds as a tropical low hovered off the coast.
A four-day inquest, before Northern Coroner Nerida Wilson in Cairns, is examining the adequacy of Mr Weavell's pilot training and flying proficiency.
It is also looking at whether the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) policy that Terrain Avoidance Warning Systems (TAWS) were not required in piston engine aircraft was appropriate.
On day two of the inquest, the former owner and chief pilot of charter company Air Connect, Grant Sindelar, gave evidence before the packed courtroom containing many family members of the men who had died.
Mr Sindelar said he employed Mr Weavell on a casual basis, and that there were "no red flags" when the pair had flown together in adverse weather conditions before the doomed flight.
"He handled the conditions very well, there were really no red flags that I saw on any of the flights we did that were any cause for concern," Mr Sindelar told the court.
"His aircraft handling was good, his attitude was good, and his knowledge was always good."
Counsel assisting the coroner, Ian Harvey, questioned Mr Sindelar about whether he had ever cancelled flights due to poor weather, to which he replied, "Yes", adding that he had tried to "instil a culture" in his pilots that they "didn't have to go up if they didn't feel right".
"It's not good for the airplane, it's not good for the aircraft," he told the court.
He said Mr Weavell had received a weather forecast for the Lockhart River Airport from the Bureau of Meteorology that morning.
"The weather wasn't serious, like a cyclone, where you wouldn't fly in there," Mr Sindelar said.
"An aircraft landed 10 minutes before Stuart landed and another came in 10 minutes after and both were light aircraft.
"It was a very unfortunate event during that 10-minute period that [the weather] deteriorated to the level that it did."
Flight examiner Cameron Marchant, who ticked off on Mr Weavell's training, told the court that he did not observe any shortcomings in Mr Weavell's ability to fly.
He said pilots were taught to anticipate "all the things out to get them", including the weather.
On Monday, the first day of the inquest, ATSB lead investigator Dr Mark Walker told the court that the plane was flying at 150 knots, which exceeded the appropriate approach speed, and that there had been a significant amount of fuel on board.
The inquest is expected to hear from the families of the men in court on Thursday.