A Victorian coroner has ruled a pilot who died in a crash near Lucyvale should not have been issued with a licence because of his limited flying experience.
Cinematographer and adventurer, Matthew Farrell (42) died in a light sport aircraft crash at Lucyvale on September 18, 2022.
Mr Farrell had been in the air for about 40 minutes before crashing amid poor weather conditions.
He had obtained his recreational pilot’s certificate in April 2022 through accelerated pathway training which recognised his existing paragliding experience.
In his findings, Coroner Paul Lawrie also referred the conduct of Recreational Aviation Australia (RAAus) officers to the Victorian Director of Public Prosecutions.
He said Mr Farrell should never have been granted his licence and had not completed the requisite amount of flying time due to his accelerated pathway.
Mr Farrell clocked 9.8 hours of flight time over four flights. It was less than the 20 hours of dual-command and five hours of pilot-in-command flying hours normally required.
A six-day inquest into Mr Farrell’s death was held in January and February 2024, before the coroner handed down his findings this month.
As part of his findings, Mr Lawrie made five recommendations including that the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) review the conduct of RAAus during the investigation and inquest. RAAus is Australia’s largest administrator of pilots, maintainers and aircraft and issued Mr Farrell with his licence.
He also recommended that CASA amend its Flight Operations Manual to clarify the aeronautical experience that constituted “recognised flight time” according to each type of aircraft, and to clarify the experience required for licence endorsements.
He also recommended that CASA amend its manual to redefine what it considered an aeroplane.
Mr Lawrie further recommended that the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) should investigate all fatal accidents with RAAusregistered aircraft, rather than RAAus.
Additionally, he recommended that RAAus develop standardised training records for flight instructors that allowed for detailed auditing of training in a form approved by CASA that must be used by flight instructors in all instances.
This article appeared in the Corryong Courier, 20 February 2025.
