Second inquest into crash deaths begins

LONG work hours for topdressing pilots are effectively on trial at a coroner's inquest in Wanganui.
And if they didn't get the airing they deserved in 2004, the deaths of Wanganui Aero Work pilot Joe Lourie and loader driver Richard McRae are surely getting that attention now.
The inquest is about the crash of a topdressing plane being flown by Mr Lourie on April 4, 2003. It hit the hillside about 6.30pm near Strathmore Saddle, 12km north-east of Stratford.
Both men died within minutes.
The October 2004 inquest into the deaths was brief and the families of the deceased were not told it was happening.
The Solicitor-General has allowed a second inquest because new evidence about Mr Lourie's working hours has emerged.
The room usually used by Wanganui's Family Court was yesterday filled with family members, witnesses and others with an interest in the inquest.
Coroner Wallace Bain said the purpose was primarily to find out who died, where, when and the causes and circumstances.
Secondly, it was to make recommendations that would avoid similar deaths in the future.
The crucial question was how long Mr Lourie's work hours were and what they consisted of.
Recommendations would not be made until next year, after Mr Bain had time to consider all the evidence.
He said the inquest was not about apportioning guilt.
There were only two days allotted to it and he wanted "all of the matters of concern out on the table". The failure to notify families of the first inquest was lamentable, and had since been corrected.
The first witness was Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) safety expert Alister Buckingham, who investigated the accident. He said the new evidence about work hours wasn't enough to prove that pilot fatigue was the main cause.
Mr Lourie's flying in the hour before the accident was described by a witness as "just about aerobatics".
Mr Buckingham used a model plane to demonstrate the tight "wing over" turns the pilot was making, which were standard practice for topdressing but were risky.
After the first inquest the CAA worked to limit pilot fatigue by putting information in its magazines and holding two workshops, its lawyer said.
CAA general aviation group manager John Lanham said overseas studies showed limiting the duty hours of topdressing pilots wasn't the answer to avoiding fatigue.
The CAA was working toward requiring businesses to have fatigue management systems instead.
"The one-size-fits-all approach isn't appropriate."
Witnesses for the Department of Labour said top dressing pilots were not permitted to carry passengers, and working eight consecutive 11- to 13-hour days was arguably unsafe. It could lead to a "sleep debt" which could take days to make up.
One witness said the pilot, his employer and regulators shared the responsibility for making sure pilots didn't fly when fatigued. She considered that all three had been negligent in this case.
The inquest continues today, with evidence from families of the deceased and from Wanganui Aero Work.