Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Pilot 'error' blamed for crash

A jury has found a plane crash during an aerobatic display in West Yorkshire which left a pilot dead was caused "primarily by an error of judgment".

Chris Penistone, 31, a pilot for the commercial airline Jet2, was taking part in The Methley Bridge Boatyard Festival when the crash happened during an aerobatic manoeuvre in June last year.

In a narrative verdict, the jury at Leeds Coroners Court said other "cumulative personal and professional pressures" also contributed to the accident.

The jury of five men and six women returned their verdict after an inquest lasting more than a week in which they saw video footage of the crash.

This showed Mr Penistone's light aircraft plunge into the ground after performing a number of spins.

The jury foreman said Mr Penistone was under pressure in the build-up to the crash from a number of sources.

He said these included a building project he was undertaking and a heavy work schedule in the days before the accident. The inquest heard how Mr Penistone "led his life at 150mph" but that he took "every precaution possible" when he flew.

A number of witnesses to the crash on June 19, 2010, said they were concerned at how low the plane seemed to be flying. They described the aircraft climbing vertically before going into a flat spin from which it seemed to recover before crashing.

After the verdicts, Deputy West Yorkshire coroner Melanie Williamson made a series of recommendations about the process through which pilots are certified to perform display aerobatics.

She paid tribute to Mr Penistone, who was from Knottingley, West Yorkshire, and told his family: "He is, no doubt, badly missed by you and his friends."

http://www.granthamjournal.co.uk

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