An elderly pilot who crashed his plane, killing himself and his two passengers, was certified fit to fly despite being told by a doctor to stop because of medical problems, a coroner's inquest heard yesterday.
Neville Haig McDonald, aged 81, of Blenheim, died along with mother and daughter Heather Anne Williams, 48, and Hayley Nicole Williams, 23, when the Piper Cherokee Archer they were flying crashed near Kirikau, 28km southwest of Taumarunui, on May 11 last year.
Mr McDonald was flying the women back from Blenheim to their Tauranga home when the plane crashed.
Civil Aviation Authority air safety investigator Steven Walker said he believed the crash might have happened after Mr McDonald became incapacitated or disorientated.
CAA's principal medical officer, Dr Kathleen Callaghan, told Taumarunui coroner Tim Scott that investigations had revealed that Mr McDonald was told to stop flying for a month after tests showed he suffered high blood pressure.
Blenheim doctor John Hedley said he had examined Mr McDonald in January last year and told him both verbally and in writing to stop flying for a month so his blood pressure could normalise. Elderly pilots are required to undergo regular medical examinations before having their pilot licence renewed.
But just over two weeks later Mr McDonald was granted a medical certificate by authorised medical assessor Dr Graeme Scrivener, of Christchurch, after Dr Scrivener asked the CAA for Mr McDonald's medical history.
Discrepancies in Mr McDonald's medical records held by his local GP, Dr Scrivener and Dr Hedley were discovered after the crash. Mr McDonald himself had written to Dr Scrivener claiming he did not suffer from high blood pressure.
An autopsy revealed that Mr McDonald had enough quinine in his system to cause temporary blindness at the time of the crash. High doses of the drug can also cause vertigo, double vision and decreased peripheral vision.
Mr Walker told the inquest on Tuesday that he suspected Mr McDonald had become disorientated or incapacitated in some way before the crash. He also said Mr McDonald had been involved in three incidents linked to loss of positional awareness since he had started flying again in late 1996.
But the CAA manager of personal licensing, Richard MacFarlane, said yesterday that this was not unusual for the time period involved, and Mr McDonald's tally of three was insignificant compared to the 600 similar incidents the authority dealt with each year.
The inquest is expected to continue until the end of the week.
* A report of the inquest in yesterday's Herald mentioned the suspension of a doctor after a CAA audit earlier this year. The suspension was in no way connected to this inquest.
Crash pilot certified 'fit' despite doctor's warning
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